I was the lucky person trying to take off in Thursaday's storm that ripped through the east coast. Roads were flooded & shut down. Tornado warnings stretched from Long Beach to Garden City. Pounding rain & driving winds made for a chaotic commute. Accidents everywhere.
I taught my class from 5:40- until 6:30, pushed them into the library to work on an essay, and tore out of the building fifteen minutes later than I should have left. I raced home....on flooded streets that could have swallowed my car........darted into the house to change & grab my suitcase & begin the long drive to LGA.
We chugged along the Northern State, passing accident after accident. It took so long to get there. However, I still arrived by 7:45. A whole fifteen minutes before my plane would begin boarding.
Now, I had checked online to see if my plane was delayed or cancelled. I checked numerous times before going to Briar. I had my family checking while I was at Briar. I checked one more time before getting into the car to head off to the airport. I called the airlines to listen to a recording that told me my flight was still scheduled for 8:29pm. I walk into the terminal and jump on the line & strain to see the monitors for "Departing Flights" and I see that my flight is now scheduled to take off at 9:15pm. Great! My luggage will still make it on the plane.
I went to Gate 2. I sat for twenty minutes. I hear announcement on top of announcement (literally. I had no clue what anyone was saying because two people insisted on making different announcements at the same time. This then became cause for numbers of people to go up to the counter and ask "What?") I heard my gate was now switched to #5. Okay. No biggie. I head to #5 and sat. For twenty minutes (again). Something just seemed weird because my flight, which had been posted on their board at Gate 5, was no longer listed. Did I miss the boarding? Is that possible while sitting right there at the gate? I went up to the attendants and asked where my flight number was supposed to be. They snickered and said "Gate 7". I said "Ummm.....I had been told 5 awhile ago." They smiled (that sneer) and said "No. You're at Gate 7". I start walking over to Gate 7, wondering how I could get single digits wrong, when I hear an announcement saying that my flight has just been moved to a new Gate. Thanks....losers.
We ended up taking off at 10:30. The flight was a bit bumpy and we had a HUGE dip in altitude, but nothing major. I landed in one piece around 12:15am.
I got off the plane and the first person I saw was Cowboy. He hasn't changed. Well, he has in subtle ways. His torso is broader.....a bit more substance to it. Not skinny like he had been, but he's still smaller than he probably should be. And no longer are there dark rings under his eyes. Apparently drugs will do that to you & stopping usage takes them away. We hugged. Hard. And in a matter of five minutes.......finding my luggage......it was as if we never missed a beat. I had my best friend back in my life.
We rode back to where he is staying in his very own Mazda 6. This is the first car HE completely owns since I have known him. Its all blue & pretty. We got back to his place & pretty much crashed. We laid there & he said "Can I have a hug?" I said sure & we hugged for a long time.
The next morning I bounced him out of bed so that we could grab Cracker Barrell for breakfast & then start the hr+ drive to Longaberger Baskets. I was so excited to go! We chit-chatted the entire day away...never missing a step as we did. We got back pretty late from the Basket place & decided to go to this gorgeous outdoor mall in Easton. I had to get Bearamy his souvenier shirt. And, what else would he have to have but the Ohio State University tshirt! Yeah...everyone wears OSU gear...or school colors.......or some sort of support. We were the only two people NOT in some form of red, silver, or white. Sad, but true. We walked around a bit, but it was cold & I was so tired. So we grabbed Panera soup for dinner & crashed around 10:30/11ish.
The next day was back to that Easton Center. They had a locally grown/locally made fair taking place & I wanted to see this in the daylight. We strolled through as if time had not passed for either of us. Still tired, we went back to his place & napped for a couple of hours. Then it was off to find a place to eat dinner. Olive Garden was his choice.....it had been the first palce we went together back in 2002, so it just seemed fitting. We ate & then headed down to "Campus". That's the OSU territory. Where all bars are located. Where everyone was in OSU apparel. Why? Because there had been a game earlier that day.......let me point out that their games are bigger than professional league games. Literally EVERYONE comes out for the game. The city of Columbus may as well shut down for the day because of the game. So we partied it up with OSU-colored people.
Still pretty tired, we went back and, once again crashed.
Sunday rolled around too fast for me & it was time to get back to the airport. We talked. A lot. He explained some of the things that happened between us. He explained some of his choices over the last year. He is truly sorry for everything that has happened & is trying to work on getting his life back on track. I forgive him. Not for him. But for me. I need to move on with the hurt & pain. I need to be able to deal with it. I still want him in my life.......in some capacity. How? I'm not sure. I do know he will always be my best friend. That won't change. But I am not sure I want or need more than friendship.
So while the trip was good in that I did not cry, did not get arrested for assaulting him in the airport, and did not have to jump back on a plane immediately because it was too painful, I am still left in limbo.
With time, I'll figure it out.
