I left New Jersey on a foggy June morning as the sun was coming up. I said goodbye to my inlaws and I climbed into the moving truck and off I went to embark on my next adventure. The moving truck didn't have a CD player so I hooked up some computer speakers to my Discman for music. I had my MapQuest directions printed out and I went to drive across the country by myself. I had waited for this day for so long and it was finally here.
I remember driving out of my town and gas was .99. I can't believe gas is going to be over a dollar soon, I thought to myself. I liked driving the truck. I'm such a little lady and I felt so BIG and high up. I drove over the Delaware Memorial and passed the city where I was born. I gawked at the tolls in Maryland and I drove through Virginia. I was wearing khaki short-shorts and the seats of the truck were pleather and I sat in a pool of sweat around my thighs. If I changed lanes, I slid in my seat. hahaha. Traffic wasn't bad and I just drove and thought about life. When I got to Tennessee, I realized that I had no recollection of driving through Virginia at all. I had road hypnosis. I did stop to get gas, eat something, and check my route in my atlas. I had decided that I would drive as far as I could until I got tired. I knew I wouldn't make it all the way through Tennessee.
It was late in the afternoon and I was driving along, minding my own business and I got pulled over for speeding. I wasn't really going that fast. It was a speed trap. Remember that I didn't have a legit driver's license. I had a restricted license that was a piece of paper. I was f*cked. The cop was some guy in his 50s and he gave me a stern talking to and asked for my license and truck info. I handed him my restricted license paper and all my truck paperwork. He shuffled through it. "Where is your driver's license?" he asked.
I pointed to the piece of paper. "This isn't a license," he said. I was very calm and was determined to talk my way out of this. "Well, in New Jersey, things are a little different. I only got my license 6 months ago and they don't give you a photo license until you've been driving a certain amount of time. But, you can see all of the truck rental and insurance information is in my name. They wouldn't have been able to rent the truck to me without a valid driver's license." He looked somewhat convinced but not 100%. "I'll be back," he said. He took all my paperwork and went back to his vehicle. I sat in the truck on the side of the highway, praying. Please don't impound my truck. Please let me go.
He came back a while later with my paperwork and a speeding ticket. "I'm going to let you go but you're going to need to slow down, young lady." Ok Boomer. If OK Boomer existed back then, I would have thought it. I was grateful though, "Thank you so much, sir. I will slow down."
I drove a little while longer until I was just outside of Memphis. My eyes were getting heavy and it was time for me to stop. I'd never rented a room before but I'd seen it a lot of times in movies. I stopped at a Motel. It wasn't a Hampton Inn but it wasn't a crack den either. It was just unassuming. I parked the truck and walked into the lobby. I was nervous that they wouldn't rent a room to me but I was thought to myself, Be cool and act like you do this all the time.
"I need a room for the night," I said.
It was like $60. I handed the lady my money and she gave me a key. It was as simple as that. I went to the room and turned on the side table light and TV. Then I called my boyfriend on the hotel phone. He was relieved. He'd been waiting on my call and was worried. "I'm in Memphis," I said. He asked when I would be in town the following day and I told him the late afternoon. We didn't talk long. I was exhausted. I'm pretty sure that I was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.
The alarm rang at 6 am. I jumped out of bed. Today was the day that I would see him. I was giddy. I got back in my car for day 2 of driving. I drove past Little Rock. There was construction the entire length of Arkansas. Finally, I made it to Oklahoma. Fort Sill is close to the Texas border so it was still a long drive. But it was sunny and I drove across the wide-open plains. There isn't much in Oklahoma but it does have the bluest skies. The closer I got, the more excited I felt. Finally, I drove into Lawton. It was strange to look around and think that this was my new home.
I pulled into the first hotel I saw. I rented a room and then I called my boyfriend. I told him what hotel and room I was in and that I was starved. I hopped into the shower. I felt GROSS and achy. It felt so good to take that shower. I felt like I was washing the past 6 months off of me. I stepped out of the shower, wrapped myself in a towel, and stood in front of the mirror brushing my hair. I heard a knock at the door.
I wasn't expecting him so soon. I was hoping I'd have a face of makeup on before I saw him. It didn't matter. I walked over to the door and opened it and there he was. He just gave me the biggest smile and wrapped his arms around me and kissed me. I melted into him. For the first time in a long time, I felt like everything was okay. I knew I was home. He left the end of August 2001. Between then and June of 2002, I only saw him for a total of 2 weeks. My heart ached for him so much and for so long. But now we would get to be together. For good.
We went out to Red Lobster for dinner and then back to the hotel for the night. We had been dating for 15 months but had never spent the night together. I remember crawling into bed and feeling weird like I was going to get in trouble or something. When I woke up the next morning. I opened my eyes and gazed at him. I remember thinking that I would get to wake up to him every day from now on and my heart just burst. I was just over the moon. I finally had him here with me. I could touch him, look at him, be with him. It was everything.
We moved into our apartment that day. Just the two of us. It was a tiny, one-bedroom apartment. I found pictures on the internet:
It was a tiny 500 square foot apartment. Rent was only $350 a month. It had brand new carpet and our apartment faced out to a cow pasture. It was so pretty. We returned the truck and headed back to the apartment to unpack. We put together the bed, futon, and floor lamps. He danced with me to "God Only Knows" as we unpacked the kitchen. Then we made a trip to the commissary. I'd never grocery shopped for a home ever so we went a little crazy. "I can get whatever I want!" I said. Cool Ranch Doritos were happening.
We went to Walmart to get the things I forgot about- an iron and ironing board, cleaning supplies, a hammer. It's amazing how much random shit you really need.
We settled into our apartment just fine. We planned to get married about 2 weeks after I arrived. During that time, I learned about my new home. I learned where to spot buffaloes and prairie dogs, when they test the tornado sirens and how to know when a bad storm is coming, that the booming and windows rattling was just artillery from the base, and to never drive down a road that is for howitzers only. Nothing about it resembled New Jersey. That was good for me. It was like a clean break. That was my old life, this was my new one.
I always liked reading the paper and I picked up a local paper on my way home, just a few days after I arrived. There was a job fair happening the following day. I showed up and got a job on the spot as an office manager at a local grocery store. It was Oklahoma pay, not New Jersey pay but it was something. Plus, I didn't have to work 50 hours a week anymore. I was grateful.
I went to college orientation and enrolled in my classes for the fall. I found out that my high school graduation got canceled due to bad weather and none of my classmates walked or received their diplomas. It cemented my decision to skip graduation. None of us got one anyway. The school did send my diploma, along with a $1,000 scholarship check from the Literary Society. I didn't even know about it! I brought a corner desk, an EMachines computer, floppy disks, school supplies, and some textbooks. What a blessing!
That is one thing that has stuck out to me in my 18 years of marriage. We have always had things come through for us. God has always made provisions. I've always had a roof over my head and food in my mouth. We got extremely lucky.
I think those two weeks were like our honeymoon period. We were young and in love. Is there anything better than that? We just hung out and enjoyed each other. It was like a sleepover party with my best friend every night. It was a beautiful time in our lives.
I think back now of the craziness of it all. I would do it all over again. I would follow him anywhere. But I know he would follow me anywhere too. You know in your soul when you've found your person. He is my person. Why would I wait to marry him? I had no doubts at all. But the wedding day is next week's story.
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