Arrivin'...

“See. I’m not gonna miss any of this.” I gesture toward the windshield. Kat at I were on the road maybe thirty minutes before we hit Atlanta’s Friday afternoon traffic.
“I was trying to avoid it.” she sighed.
We chatted about our day while inching forward. I feel void of any emotion right now. It takes an hour before we’re up to the speed limit. The engine of the truck is so loud that it feels like it’s taking too much energy to talk. We’re both quiet after a while.
The sun goes down and the rain continues. It gets harder then slacks off then gets harder again. We cross into Tennessee and eventually have to stop at a gas station and fill up the truck.
“Do you want anything?” I ask her while sliding out of the passenger seat.
“No thanks.”
“I think I want ice cream…” I trail off while walking towards the building.
Minutes later, ice cream in tow, we’re back on the road. The rain hasn’t stopped. I find myself dozing off. I want to stay awake, and I’m trying but sleep just feels so good…
…“Ok, when we get off the exit, then what?” Kat’s voice woke me up.
“What’s that?” I look at her and see she’s on her phone. I glance at the clock. It’s after eleven. I’ve been asleep for two hours.
“Ok. Ok. Yes, I remember. We’ll see you in a little bit. Ok. Bye.” she hung up the phone.
“We’re in Kentucky!” she exclaims. We’re staying with her grandmother, and eating breakfast with her and Kat’s aunt and uncle in the morning before heading out again.
“Yay!” I clap. My eyes feel like someone poured gravel on top of them. I blink. “It’s so flat out here.” I stare out at the vast expanse of street, traffic lights and restaurants.
“You think this is flat? Just wait until tomorrow.” Kat laughed.
This particular area reminds me of Anderson South Carolina where Rob lived. I’ve see many South Carolina car tags on our way up here which has been rather comforting. I’ve always thought the South Carolina tags were Rob’s way of letting me know he was with me. What’s going to happen once I get to Illinois?
“I think I was supposed to turn back there.” Kat said.
“Hmm. You know, I don’t have an opinion.” I smiled, having no idea where we are. I’ve never been to this part of the country.
“I guess we’ll see.”
Sure enough, we were supposed to turn. She circled around and we made it to her grandmother’s a little later than we thought.
Kat’s grandmother lives in the only high rise on the street. Her one bedroom apartment is precious. The three of us talk for a little while before finally getting to bed.
I’m up early the next morning and staring at the ceiling. Kentucky. We’re in Kentucky. I’m really doing this! I really did leave. My stomach lurched and I inhaled quickly trying to catch my breath. Pete’s not next to me, there will be no coffee and long talks on the porch this morning, no cutting hair today, just driving. Driving to something completely unknown…
We’re all up an hour or so later. The sky is gray and cloudy. I called mom and dad, texted Monique, telling her I missed her this morning at the salon and we headed out to breakfast.
“I can drive.” Kat said as we loaded up the truck, bellies full.
“Are you sure? You drove all night.”
“I don’t mind. Trust me, I’ll let you know if I need to switch.”
“Ok.” I smiled. I rather she drive anyway. The damn truck scares me.
We both climbed in and laughed. “Here we go!” she exclaimed.
“Yay!”
“Will you read me the directions?” Kat asked a little while later.
I read the next few lines of the MapQuest directions she printed instructing us to merge on to another interstate in sixty four miles.
“Ok, so we have some time.” she said.
“To say the least.” I stared out the window. I think I’d be ok with driving forever and never stopping. I’m amazed my short attention span hasn’t led me to a book or writing, or even texting. My eyes haven’t moved from the window since we started driving again.
“So glad it’s clear outside.” I said sarcastically. It’s still raining!
“I know. We need to stop soon for gas.”
“Kay…”A few miles later we’re pulling off. We’re in Indiana and in the middle of nowhere, BUT there is a Starbucks!
“I’m going in for coffee! You want anything?” I squeal.
“No thanks!” she laughs.
Back in the truck, a latte warming my hands, we’re off again.
“I’ve never seen so much damn corn before in my life.” I stare out at the miles and miles of corn fields.
“Yup. This is flatter than Kentucky.”
The rain stopped sometime in between cornfields. We cross the state line into Illinois.
“Ok, what do we do now?” Kat asked.
“Gotta get to the toll road. Stay to the right.” I read the directions then looked out in front of us. There were two toll roads we drove through before we eventually saw the sign that read “Welcome to Chicago”.
“Yay!” I squealed.
“Do you want to call Kaci and tell her where we are?” Kat asks.
Kaci is my roommate that I found online five weeks ago, and have never met or spoken to.
“Um, I think I’ll text her.” I pull out my phone.
We continue to follow the directions further into the city. It’s getting dark despite it being almost five in the afternoon. Kat and I sigh at the view of the buildings. I live here now…really?!
“Get off at the next exit.” I tell Kat. Kaci hasn’t texted me back yet.
“OK, then what?”
“Turn right. We’re close.”
“You want to call her now?”
“Nope. Let’s get there. I can’t talk and read directions at the same time.”
We get to the street I live on and find it’s one way and we’re going the wrong way.
“Dammit. Hang on. I’m gonna turn around and go up a block, then come down the street.”
“Ok.”
She turns our bus around and heads down the street, stopping in front of my new residence.
“This is it!”
“Love!” I sigh. It’s a narrow brick building across from a huge church.
The skyline is behind the church and I can hardly breathe. “Wow. I think I’ll call Kaci now.” I dial her number.
“Hello?” a voice answers.
“Kaci? It’s Melissa!”
“Oh hey! Are you here yet?”
“We are! Where should we park?”
“Stay there. I’m right down the street.”
“Ok…”
We hung up and I looked at Kat. “She said stay. She’s right down the street.”
“Hmm. I guess I’ll put my flashers on.” she pressed the button and we were quiet, waiting.
Ten minutes later a pretty girl with curly brown hair and another girl with long dark hair walk up to the front of our truck. I jump out.
“Hey!” I exclaimed and shook the first girl’s hand.
“Hey! I’m Kaci and this is my friend Julia.” she shook my hand.
“Hi!”
“Ok, so you guys need to circle around to the back and pull in the alley-way and I’ll direct you from there.” Kaci said.
“Ok.” I nod. I feel I can barely move. I jump back in the truck and tell Kat this.
“Oh boy.” she says. “This is gonna be tight.”
Oh and it was. We had to circle the block twice to get it right and not side swipe another building, but we made it!
“Before you start moving things in, let me show you the place!” Kaci said and walked us up the back stairs to a small deck, and through a door that is my bedroom.
“This is your room, your closet,” she flipped on the light switch and I gasped. It’s fabulous!
“Wow…”
“Yeah, your closet is great!” Kaci laughed. “Here’s the bathroom. The other roommate, Stacey’s stuff is still in there but she’s going to move it out. She works like, three jobs.”
Kat and I nod and we keep walking.
“So this is the kitchen and the living room! I’m sorry my stuff is still everywhere…” Kaci looks around. There is fabulous amounts of cabinet space, a cute table and chairs and two comfy looking couches in front of a t.v. and a large window that looks out onto the church. “Julia and I are going down the street to get keys made for you while you’re moving everything in. Stacey should be home soon so you’ll get to meet her as well.”
“Ok.” I nod.
“Shall we?” Kat looks at me.
“Yup!” I smile. We go back through my room and the back door while Kaci and Julia head out the front door.
“I really like it!” Kat smiles.
“Me too!”
We walk to the back of the truck and pull the sliding door up revealing everything I brought. Something begins to fall from the sky and float around us. We stop and look at each other.
“Snow!” We both exclaim and erupt into a fit of slap happy, lost our minds laughter.
In an hour and a half we have everything inside after uttering every explicative in existence. (the bed was hard and the last thing we had to move…) we’ve met Stacey who I believe is our resident supermodel, (she’s so pretty it’s illegal), and have keys now that Kaci and Julia are back.
“So we need to take the truck back. The place we drop it off at is in Wrigleyville. How do we get back?” Kat asks Kaci.
“Um, take the red line to Clark and Division then take bus number seventy to Division and you’ll know where you are. Call me if you need help.” she replies.
Huh? Bus? Really? I guess I have to learn sometime…
“Ok!” Kat replies and we’re off again.
I’m so delirious I have no idea what’s going on as Kat backs our huge ass out of the tight spot we’re in.
“Dammit, I can’t see anything.”
“I’ll direct you!” I exclaim and jump out. Once she’s backed out we realize the street we’re heading down dead ends.
“Great. I think I’m going to have to back out the whole way down the street.” she rolled her eyes.
“Um…Yeah….” There was no where to turn around. With both of us looking in the mirrors and saying a prayer, we got it out of the street unscathed.
“I can’t wait to get rid of this thing!” she exclaimed.
“I know!” I laughed.
We found the drop off place with no problem. Parking it was going to be the problem. The only spot available was in front of a car on a trailer.
“I’m going to have to block that car in.” she sighed.
“Dumbass shouldn’t have put the car there in the first place. I guess if they needed it they would have put it in a better spot.” I observe.
“Fine. I don’t see another place to put it.” She pulls in, we get out, drop the keys off and look at each other.
“I’m starving.” I look around.
“Me too.”
“Whatcha want?” I ask.
“Food. I don’t care.”
“Me either.”
We start walking and stop in the first bar we see. We sit in a high top table and both order a beer.
“We made it!” she exclaims!
“Yay!” We clink our glasses.
We order a stupid amount of food and are practically silent as we feast on it like we’ll never eat again.
“This still isn’t real. It still feels like I’m on vacation… with everything I own.” I tell her.
“Oh it’ll be real tomorrow when I get on that plane!” Kat laughs.
“Let’s not talk about that!”
Eventually we roll ourselves out of there and onto the train.
“Clark and Division right?” she looks at me.
“Uh huh.”
We’re off in two stops.
“Which bus?” she looks at me.
“Dunno.” I smile.
“I think it’s that way.” she points across the street to a bus stop.
“Ok.”
We stand there with no sign of any bus coming from anywhere.
“I’m freezing. Let’s get a cab” I look at her.
“Alright. Let’s give it ten minutes.”
“Deal.”
Ten minutes later…
“West Division and North Cleaver.” I’m telling the cab driver.
“Ok.” he replies and takes us there.
Kaci is in the kitchen when we get home.
“How’d it go guys?”
“Good!” Kat and I said at the same time and laughed.
“Fabulous!”
We stay up a little while longer until I’m no longer able to form sentences anymore. Kat and I agree we’re going to breakfast in the morning at my favorite spot, The Bongo Room then she’ll be off to the airport. Sleep comes with little effort…