The True Washington Story, Continued
Mood:
suave
So I'm back, with coffee and cigarette in hand, ready to paint The rest of The story:
Shark Week, 2003:
I go back to ASSMA's apartment every weekend now, but only as a pretense to hang out with her for five minutes before asking if her neighbor is around. He always is, and he's always glad to see me. We all play cards at his place, when he goes to buy smokes at The store he comes back with a pack for me even if I don't need one, he makes me a sandwich when he makes himself one and he even knows I hate mayonnaise, and even if he leaves The room for two seconds to go to The bathroom he comes back and gives me a quick kiss. For some reason, we're acting like a couple even though we've only REALLY known each other for a week, and for some reason, it feels like The most natural progression in The world. We spend The whole weekend lounging around his apartment, watching The discovery channel and talking (among other things), until I have to go home because to stay any longer would tell my roommates that I'm up to no good and not really just hanging with The girls. I don't know why I haven't told them yet about this guy that I'm seeing every weekend, it just feels like if I tell them, it won't be The same. Neighbor guy and I are spending all of our spare time together, whenever can, and then The bomb drops:
We are moving.
Well, WE really weren't moving, but The Bestest Best Friend is getting transferred to Florida, where her parents live. She'll live with them until her husband gets orders there, and then they'll get their own place.
I have bad credit. Seriously BAD credit. I have nowhere to go, but then The BBF drops The idea that maybe I should go with her to because hey, what's holding me here?
Good Point. I agree. So now The plan is that on my 24th birthday, only two weeks away, we will caravan across The country: Me, The BBF, The baby, and my cat in The Neon, and her dad (who flew up to help with The move) and our Pomeranian in The moving truck. The trip will take one week, and I would have to pay for nothing but The occasional meal. This is new, this is exciting, this is me moving across The country based on a snap decision. However, The irony does not escape me: neighbor guy and I are having so much fun together, and now that I'm content, I'm moving. But who am I to turn down such an opportunity? I have to tell neighbor guy. We exchange email addresses, only he writes it down wrong and every email he sends me I never receive. I tell him I will call him on my cell phone.
CUT TO- The Day Before My 24th Birthday:
ASSMA gives me a hug goodbye and sobs that she'll miss my bawdy stories and no-shit attitude. I am spending The night at neighbor-guy's for one last hoo-haw, and I feel fine.
My 24th Birthday:
He drops me off The next morning at The hotel that we're staying at, and tells me he'll miss me.
Okay, this is where I'll speed it up, because it gets even longer:
We start The road trip. We'll be stopping in Spokane for two days, so that The BBF and her dad can spend some time with BBF's brother and his family. I call neighbor guy via dialing ASSMA, and tell her that I was thinking of inviting him to Spokane until we leave, because really, who knows The next time I'll get laid? She hands The phone to neighbor guy, and without a second thought he says yes. 12 hours later, he's there, and I am happy. The second day, he spends an exorbitant amount of cash on me so that I can get my hair and nails done for a 'birthday present', and that night, when we finally go to bed, he turns to me and asks me to be his girlfriend. Bad timing. I hate to remind him, but I'm moving THREE THOUSAND MILES AWAY, starting tomorrow. He doesn't care, and tells me that he's taking leave The second week of September to go see his parents for two weeks, he'll just cut it down to one week and come see me for The other 7 days. His parents live in Arizona. I think it's strange, but okay. We're officially a couple, officially, but we've been together since Shark Week.
He leaves at 10 AM The next day, and we begin our trek to Florida, or "FLOIDA" if you want to be weird about it. Instantly, I begin to miss neighbor-guy. INSTANTLY. That night, at The first hotel, I find out that he's shoved several half-used phone cards in my purse, along with his phone number. And a hundred dollars for The trip.
The TRIP:
I call him every night, talking for three hours . The BBF finds it funny, because that's about as long as she talks to her husband every night. The conversation vary in their progression, but by The middle of The week we're talking about spending our lives together. Not getting married, mind you; just being together. And kids, we talk about kids. Bleah. Towards The end of The trip, we go broke. I don't want to ask him, so The BBF does, and he sends us 300 dollars by Western Union, and tells me that he can't wait to see me in September.
AUGUST 24th, 2003:
We arrive in , and I am in serious pain. My everything hurts. EVERYTHING. This goes on for two weeks, as does The nightly phone calls to neighbor-guy. I miss my period. Turns out, I am 2 months pregnant. I have only been with neighbor guy for a month, meaning that The first night I met him and went home with The mega-hunk, something happened that shouldn't have. I am hysterical, thinking that neighbor-guy won't want me anymore. He does, and he says we'll get through it. Oh god, I don't want to be single and pregnant 3000 miles away from my family and anyone I know. Neighbor guy tells me that he'll come to and take me back with him to Washington. He also tells me that he actually drove back to The house in Spokane looking for after he had left The first time, with every intention of packing all my stuff into his truck and taking me back then, but we were already gone. Of course at this time, I already know that he's leaving in October for a detachment to Japan, and I tell him it won't work because of EVERYTHING that would happen to me while he was gone, plus I had no medical insurance, no job, no money... more complications than I'd care to admit.
So he says that I would be well taken care of if we were married, because I wouldn't have to worry about any of that. He wants me in his life forever, and what better way to do that than get married. He wants to get back from Japan and have me at The apartment waiting for him.
And that's how it went. Chaos ensued. Suddenly I'm buying my own engagement ring with only a hundred dollar budget, a wedding dress with a hundred dollars, and I'm waiting for The 11th of September, when he goes on leave and starts The drive to . Neighbor-guy calls my parents and asks to marry me, causing panic and confusion in California, because no one even knew I was dating someone.
SEPTEMBER 11th, 2003:
He starts The drive.
SEPTEMBER 14th:
He shows up in , and I start to repack all my stuff in his truck for The trip BACK TO WASHINGTON. I have been in for less than a month. I look at it as a short vacation from The chilliness of Washington. We have decided to get married in Las Vegas, on The trip back. by The 22nd of September, neighbor-guy will become a hub-unit. There is much rejoicing as Me, him, and my cat take off on The 3500 mile trip back to The northwest.
And that's it, kids. I had to go cross-country to find love, only to find it back in The place I left. He drove there by himself to get me, and we went back together.
I think I'll talk about The trip home later, I've babbled on enough for today.
Cheers. Hope I haven't taken up too much of your time with these two posts.
Rattled Out By Queenie
at 6:03 AM
Updated: Tuesday, 27 July 2004 3:51 AM