Everyone wanted to be here to wish us goodbye or so long for a bit and they were. The throngs of our admirers. or maybe to make sure we were really gonna go. Hah.
Rose and Feelie and Frankie & Tess and Antonio and Brenda and Tom and Kip and on and on and on. We were a bit overwhelmed that so many people love us so much. Always a humbling experience every time I think about it.
Then suddenly we were gone and headed onward to adventures as yet unknown and we were excited. Really excited. We hadn't ever done this before and I for one was about coming out of my skin with glee.
But how had we gotten to this? Good question.
Here's how...
One night Rico and I were pillow talking as usual, lounging back on our comfy pillows all snuggled into each other and all warm/cozy and I guess reflecting a bit. Suddenly he looked over at me and said,
"You know what?"
I shook my head.
"I'm really kind of tired."
"YOU? Mister go-gettem rowdy-ass? Tired?"
"Yep."
I mulled that over for a minute. Then, I looked over at him and suddenly I saw what I hadn't seen before. I could see that he wasn't kidding. He was and looked...tired, and also suddenly I realized I was too. Bone weary tired. Good grief, how had I missed it. Well to be honest, the pace we had been going at made it really easy to miss it...and I had. I think maybe we both had until now. It just suddenly hit us like the proverbial ton of chopsuey on lice, and here we were admitting it to ourselves and each other.
"So, what you wanna do about it?" I asked him.
"Think we could just get away for a bit? Maybe turn things over to Kip and Charlotte and Guy? Teddy too of course? Rick too? They are all good and can handle it for a bit, don't yah think? We got Rose and Billy and Ofelia too for back-up. Right?"
I thought about that for oh maybe about two seconds and said I thought that was a splendid idea. The minute I said that, he got up and went to the office and after a couple minutes of thrashing around brought a big map of the United States into the bedroom and laid it on my chest.
"Here, close your eyes and point." I laughed, but he was serious and so I did.
The spot I picked was a spot on a place called the Boutique River, a small meandering body of water which after further exploration we discovered wasn't very long, was tree lined almost the entire length, and quite isolated...located in north central Michigan. We looked at each other and grinned. "BOUTIQUE RIVER IT IS," I thought and saw he did too. HEHEHE...and so now amazingly here we were headed to that very spot.
But I digress. The next morning after the DylanMapQuest middle-finger-and-point incident, I called a friend who is a realtor and told him what we were thinking and he started scouting information.
Didn't take him long and he called me back saying he had found what he thought would be a great spot for us. A quite large brand new house that was in a very wooded remote area right on the river. I looked over the stuff that he had emailed and faxed me, and Rico and I both agreed.
SO, after discovering and then leasing this very large house which was about the only structure for miles, smack dab right on the river, the next thing was simply to pack up and flee. I really liked that the house was quite isolated in a remote part of the state. There was a small town a few miles away that would do for supplies and stuff, but that was pretty much it. There were a few cottages several miles further downriver, but virtually no year-round homes anywhere near where we would be.
Amazingly, it seems some guy had found and bought the property and had just finished building the house. Then just before moving in, he suddenly died. (Under peculiar circumstances but of course I didn't know that then).
So it was brand new and gorgeous...nestled amongst the trees on a wooded lot and right on the riverbank and up just a bit. PERFECT, I thought and so did Rico and he said so. The guy had had only one kid now grown who lived out in California and didn't want this house (or so we were told). So he had immediately put it up for sale and voila.
Yep. Here we were headed to the northern woods and whatever else we knew not NOR did we give a fuck. We just wanted a get-away and a respite so we could go back home ultimately all refreshed and fired up again as we had been. Little did we know what the future held and frankly...
I looked over at Rico as we drove up the Interstate towards St. Louis (and then we would turn east toward Michigan). He looked back and I could see the reflection of my own feelings being returned. It was a really good feeling. He reached over with his right hand and took my left one in his and neither of us said a word nor did we need to. That is the way it is with us. We just know what each of us is thinking and that is beyond incredible to me. More than enough.
"You ready, honey?" Rico asked?
"Yep, your lankiness. You?"
He laughed.
"More than..."
and we both smiled and the miles rolled past as we got further and further from the only home he and I had ever known together. It was odd in a way, but good too.
I love my Rico dude beyond words to describe it and I have figured out that it doesn't really matter where we are as long as we are together. He says he feels the same way and I know he does. I can feel it. Much as I deeply love the house we have in Missouri, and we both do, this was simply an adventure we were both incredibly ready for.
We drove north and the sights grew less and less familiar as we wandered off the expressway at times just to get a feel of the terrain and the countryside. Pretty soon, it was lunchtime and we found a small town right off the Interstate and in it a small diner that we hoped would be like Rose and Billy's fare but knew it wouldn't be. They are one of a kind. I kept thinking we should have brought them along, hahaha, as well as Feelie for comic relief and Anton...
Ok, never mind. Kinda counter-productive that.
It was a good lunch and passable food, although hardly gourmet but that was ok.
CHAPTER II: BURP
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