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Headed For Wide Open Spaces
Jun. 1st, 2010 01:42 pmIn some ways, it felt like leaving for college all over again.
They had loaded up the car the night before. The car was Parker’s graduation gift from her parents—her mother’s old Toyota 4-Runner. Worn in an dinged up enough to be comfortable, but, being a Lee family vehicle, impeccably maintained. All of Parker’s worldly possessions (at least, the ones that were going to Texas with her) were packed tidily into the back.
As the final touch, Parker had affixed the sticker that she had bought months ago—“Be Aware: Other Realities May Be Closer Than They Appear”—to the back bumper. Her mother had looked slightly askance at it, but hadn’t commented.
“You guys don’t have to get up to see me off, tomorrow,” Parker had told her parents on the way in from the garage. “It’s going to be crazy early.”
But, in spite of the offer, she hadn’t been at all surprised to find her parents already up when she came down to the kitchen at 4:30 in the morning. The coffee was already on, and her father was scrambling egg whites.
Breakfast was pretty quiet, though it was due largely to all the participants still being in various stages of waking up than from any awkwardness. By six o’clock, after one final flurry of “Did you remember?” and “Do you want to take?” Parker found herself standing in the driveway with her parents.
“Do you have your directions?” her dad asked.
“I do. They’re in the front seat. And the ranch’s number.”
“Good. Take it easy on the drive. It’s only eight hours—you can stop plenty and still get there early on this evening.”
“Just don’t stop any place that looks sketchy,” her mother added. “Keep your gas topped off so that you don’t have to stop in one of those scary places in the middle of nowhere.”
“I will. And my phone’s charged. I’ll call from the road.”
“Good. Okay. Well,” Mr. Lee checked his watch, “if you want to get out ahead of the worst of the traffic, we’d better get you on the road.”
“You guys are going to come out to visit, right?” Parker asked, as she hugged them good-bye.
She really wanted them to. And that was what made it very different from leaving for college.
“Definitely. We will.”
They stood in the driveway until Parker reached the end of the street. She knew—she was watching in the rear-view mirror. She braked at the stop sign and waved her arm out of the open window.
Then blew a good-bye blast on the horn that was loud enough to wake half the block, or at least their dogs.
As she drove on, Parker could see, in spite of the face-palms, her parents were laughing.
They had loaded up the car the night before. The car was Parker’s graduation gift from her parents—her mother’s old Toyota 4-Runner. Worn in an dinged up enough to be comfortable, but, being a Lee family vehicle, impeccably maintained. All of Parker’s worldly possessions (at least, the ones that were going to Texas with her) were packed tidily into the back.
As the final touch, Parker had affixed the sticker that she had bought months ago—“Be Aware: Other Realities May Be Closer Than They Appear”—to the back bumper. Her mother had looked slightly askance at it, but hadn’t commented.
“You guys don’t have to get up to see me off, tomorrow,” Parker had told her parents on the way in from the garage. “It’s going to be crazy early.”
But, in spite of the offer, she hadn’t been at all surprised to find her parents already up when she came down to the kitchen at 4:30 in the morning. The coffee was already on, and her father was scrambling egg whites.
Breakfast was pretty quiet, though it was due largely to all the participants still being in various stages of waking up than from any awkwardness. By six o’clock, after one final flurry of “Did you remember?” and “Do you want to take?” Parker found herself standing in the driveway with her parents.
“Do you have your directions?” her dad asked.
“I do. They’re in the front seat. And the ranch’s number.”
“Good. Take it easy on the drive. It’s only eight hours—you can stop plenty and still get there early on this evening.”
“Just don’t stop any place that looks sketchy,” her mother added. “Keep your gas topped off so that you don’t have to stop in one of those scary places in the middle of nowhere.”
“I will. And my phone’s charged. I’ll call from the road.”
“Good. Okay. Well,” Mr. Lee checked his watch, “if you want to get out ahead of the worst of the traffic, we’d better get you on the road.”
“You guys are going to come out to visit, right?” Parker asked, as she hugged them good-bye.
She really wanted them to. And that was what made it very different from leaving for college.
“Definitely. We will.”
They stood in the driveway until Parker reached the end of the street. She knew—she was watching in the rear-view mirror. She braked at the stop sign and waved her arm out of the open window.
Then blew a good-bye blast on the horn that was loud enough to wake half the block, or at least their dogs.
As she drove on, Parker could see, in spite of the face-palms, her parents were laughing.
