It’s been a grueling week. As I write this I have awakened from five hours’ sleep after having been up for the previous twenty-four. I’ve had about half of my belongings stored in a storage unit here. Since I want to (am desperate to) move to Washington I decided to move my stuff up there. For one thing, when I finally do get the hell out of here, I’ll already be half-moved; for another, the storage unit rental in Bellingham is about 1/3 what it is here. So I rented a Ryder truck, hired a couple of day labourers, and headed north.
There was a small mix-up with the labourers. I offered them $20 each to load the 12-foot truck. The one who spoke English thought I’d said $40 each. I gave them an extra $5 each. They made more on this job than I do, and they don’t pay taxes. Next, my neighbour, who was going to “go along for the ride” and help driving, backed out because he was nervous about the weather – which was the roughest weather we’ve seen here for a while. So I drove alone. A rock came off of a truck and cracked the Ryder’s windshield. Good thing I’d bought the no-deductible insurance. I hit high winds, blinding rain, and sleet. I stopped in Redding for the night.
I made it out to the Olympic Peninsula the next day to see my friend who lives out there. She lived across the street from me in high school, and I’ve always had a bit of a crush on her. We lost touch after she joined the army and I moved to L.A., but I had worked with her father at the air force base and she visited my father whenever she was in town. When my dad died she sent me a letter via a neighbour and we got back in touch. We talked as she was going through divorce number four, and I’d look in on her father from time to time and report back to her during his final illness. Even before I knew where she was, I’d been trying to talk my employer into letting me work out of our Bothell, WA office, to telecommute from a home office, or trying to find a company that would employ me up there. I was happy to find out she lived in The Evergreen State.
As it turned out, she’s not interested in another relationship - even with me. But that’s okay, since we’re still very good friends. And, my best friend lives in Washington. I’d live close to my filmmaking cohort, and have another friend to visit and who would visit me. Right on.
We spent last Thursday together and exchanged Christmas presents. Something bad happened the previous weekend. She was at a bar with a friend, the friend’s new boyfriend, and a friend of his. The friend of the boyfriend was making unwanted advances, and she made it clear that she wasn’t interested. He was persistent and tempers flared. He slapped her in the face. She announced that she was going home and was calling a cab. The b/f said that he’d take her home. What he actually did was to drive her about six miles out of town and shove her from his truck. She apparently had a hold of the door handle when he drove off and he dragged her a bit, causing her painful bruises. She saw a single light in the darkness and made her way to a lonely house where she called the police. She didn’t know the men’s’ names and her “friend” pleaded ignorance; so they were not arrested. And to top everything off, in the previous month her home was broken into twice. She threatened to shoot the intruders and they left.
So anyway, during the visit… My friend got a dog because of the break-ins. The two-year-old shepherd-mix was very shy and cringed from the sight of men. Some watchdog. She got the dog the very day I arrived. Her cat hates men. Even with women the cat isn’t very friendly. Her cat actually climbed into my lap and let me pet her! My friend was so surprised that she grabbed a camera to collect the evidence. I told her the cat was “showing her” for getting a dog. The kitty was very accepting of me for the whole visit. (Animals do tend to like my anyway; although this particular feline had always kept her distance.)
On Friday morning I had to leave to finish my semi-move 200 miles away. With my friend’s help, the unloading and storage went very well. I hung out with him for the weekend.
On Sunday morning I had a message on the cell phone. My female friend said that she’s moving to Tennessee. I asked her what had prompted such a sudden decision. She said there was nothing. She had talked about moving several times, but this seemed very sudden indeed since she had made no indication that a move was imminent. She’d returned the dog to the adoption agency, told her employer that she was not coming back, and said that she’s putting the house up for sale and will move in a couple of weeks.
:eek:
Since I was driving back to California with my friend and she lives way out on the Olympic Peninsula there was no chance of seeing her on the way back. As I said, there is no romantic angle; but she is a good friend. I may never see her again. I can’t blame her though. Two break-ins, physical abuse, plus an ex-husband who, while he doesn’t know where she lives, has several “indicators” of a potential serial killer. I’ll miss her company.
On Monday morning my friend and I started our trek. We spent 20 hours on the road, and neither of us slept. After being up for 24 hours we arrived at my flat and I inflated the bed for him and then hit my own rack. I woke up five hours later to find him ready to leave. He’s gone up to the desert to see his family. He’d originally planned to hang out for a day, but that was when he thought Christmas was on Thursday.
So here I am. Tired and “drive-lagged”, and thinking about my female friend whom I may never see again, living in a city I hate, with laundry to do and no ambition to do it.
Happy Christmas.
)