Being irritated and on my last nerve with the husband, I agreed to hang out with the "ex" and his friend, Dylan, late last night. Of course, this started a big fight, of the husband accusing me of going to/or wanting to sleep with the guy, or whatever else, and that he knows me - I won't be able to control myself or say no.. etc, etc, etc. And so I had to lay out a very blunt, cold statement to refresh his memory that we are barely in a relationship as it is.
For some reason, this came as a shock to him.
Huh? Where has he been?
Nevermind that I've successfully closed up and resolved any feelings I had for the "ex." My mission was to get this cat off my back and learn his place and his situation.
And so I left at 12:30 am.. and didn't come back until about 9:30 am.
I could relate a beautiful story of meaning and color and a poignant point, but.. the truth is, there wasn't any. Instead, I'll just tell you what happened.
The "ex" picked me up [I gotta find something else to call him..], and we went to his friends apartment. It was 1 am and we had nothing to do. Nothing FREE to do, anyway. So we ended up driving around downtown Miami.
Dylan ended up cutting off some "South Floridian redneck" in a pickup truck. I didn't see it happen, but.. I did see the guy speed up alongside us and start yelling an endless string of profanities at us. And he wouldn't stop. I just laid low in the back seat, praying the guy didn't have a gun. So the guy sped off in front of us until, of course, we came to a red light.
There were two choices: pull to a stop next to him, or pull to a stop behind him.
We stopped behind him. After apparently fumbling in his seat for something, he stomped out of his truck toward us, and continued to yell. Wow, the guy just wouldn't quit. Usually the finger and an annoyed horn honk is enough for me. He had dark tousled hair, no shirt, and a pair of jeans riding low on him, so that it looked like he was wearing no underwear.
With the guy at his window, Dylon says, "I'm sorry, man." There's a handshake, and the guy says, "Just drive safe, man" or something like that.
And that was that.
And then Dylon sped off in the other lane as soon as he got the chance.
The two guys I was hanging out with thought it would make a great short film. With the intensity and momentum building up for something really bad to happen, but then it's all dropped in the end with just a handshake.
But, hey, I knew someone who was shot and killed in a road rage incident. You can't mess with that stuff..
So.. we drive around some more.. Not knowing where or what to do. Someone somehow mistook me to say that I dared Dylon to drive to Key West. "Oh, you don't think he will?" I wasn't saying anything. I was just saying an "oh, no.." for me and mine.
So, yeah. Drove to Key West. And back. In the dead of night. They stopped alongside the pitch black road a couple times to get out of the car, and watch the stars. So touching. Really. *rolls eyes* Me, I was just having flashbacks of being stuck in Alligator Alley for FOUR HOURS. I got plenty of the stars, then..
Sitting in the car, though, I did see a shooting star. But I had no wish to make.
I probably should have wished to get back home alive, now thinking about it. But at the same time, during the trip, I was getting ready that, hey, it really didn't matter THAT much if I died.
What's great, is that just as you enter the deadly US 1 [two-lane highway] to Key West, there's a sign:
PLEASE DRIVE CAREFULLY
What's even greater is that, on the way back just heading OUT of Key West, that sign had 19 fatalities on it. Dylon 'n I were just thinkin', "Wow, two people died already since we've been on that road. How do they update that sign so fast?"
But.. yeah.. just to Key West and back. Once in Key West, around 5 am then, he just drove all around the island. Thinking back on it, we could've done something really cool, like hang out on the beach and watch for the sunrise. That would've been touching. But no.. instead, we just ate breakfast at Waffle House. And I had two of the worst sausage patties in my life..
I liked hearing the roosters crow at 5 in the morning, as Dylon stopped to get gas, though. That was a nice touch.
Oh, and then there was the "ex" talking with me about our situation, probably trying to figure out, y'know.. where did he go wrong? Probably just wants an answer to "why?" maybe. He's not taking it too easy. I don't know how to help him.. But I'll relate more on that later..
At the very least, those 9 crazy hours left me feeling much more tolerable of the husband. And I REALLY liked how he didn't give me crap for getting home so late. Maybe he's learning..
And maybe this very short Key West trip could be seen as some type of initiation to my junior year. It definitely left me feeling much more free and ready to take on whatever I need to. And who knows what this year will bring. I've come to expect and embrace the craziness.
LJ