It took me two hours, mind you during that time there wasn't much else to do. There was no internet, no cell signal, sure I had videogames but after repetitively dying, on purpose at times, or not figuring out the next step the novelty quickly wore off. Peter can kiss my ass, I know he got me these games as some kind of psychological warfare for when I get back. I mean seriously what possible point could there be to a game called The Littlest Petshop and I dare you to find ANY entertainment value in the Biggest Loser handheld addition. Basically, I was down to my iPod and its assortment of music that I had collected over the years and organizing the contents of my phone, which took me all of ten minutes to clear out the crap I didn't want, use, or need.
Two freaking hours…technically two hours and 42 minutes, but who was counting? Sure it doesn't seem like an extraordinarily long amount of time, but when you're confined to a seat theorized to be descended from the original designs of a straight-backed, wooden, restraint torture chair and the most entertaining and distracting thing to do, short of trying to sleep, is to stare out the window…time tends to drag.
And so, in lieu of my in-flight predicament, my favoritest pastime in the whole wide world: thinking and I enjoyed even more good, ole fashioned quality time together. Joy.
I had been thinking for a while. I do it a lot when I'm bothered by something or am very, very bored, and right now I have no idea why I'm making this trip back there. I thought for the three weeks before this trip, the time it took me to pack and go to the airport. I thought for two hours and 42 minutes while I was hurtling through the air at 39,000 feet, pondered a bit while getting my baggage at baggage claim, and I am still trying to understand what the logic was behind making this trip while getting my rental.
I hadn't visited here in just about three years and after my last visit I didn't particularly feel the desire to come back let alone feel welcome to visit whenever I could as I was once able to. Driving through the streets I can see the differences of things as they are now, with what I remember from my childhood, as well as my more recent…memories, I guess that's the best word.
The closer I get to them the less time I'm going to have to try and sort out everything in my head. They know I'm coming too, and knowing them they've probably managed to stalk it down and plot out a timeline, if not a series of timelines based on any and every possible outcome or result, right down to the last minute. Fuckers need a hobby, I tell you what. They can't just go with the flow, oh no, god forbid they just chill out and let whatever happens, happen, and let it happen the way it's supposed to. No, any slight opportunity for control, even if they realistically don't have any kind of control over the situation, they'll take advantage of it. They put O.C.D. sufferers to shame with their behavior.
Freakin' ridiculous if you ask me…Alice was always like that though, for as long as I can remember, she always needed to know what was going on, why people were doing whatever they were doing, god help you though if you wore mismatching socks on purpose. She had asked me to come back…basically begged and pleaded for me to return is a MUCH better description of the technique she used into manipulating me to get what she wanted which in turn ignited a huge wave of guilt on my end, and I'm fairly certain she did it on purpose in order to aid her quest in getting me to come back. Alice refused to give any reasoning over the phone as why I should come back, and to my knowledge everyone is fine. The sincerity behind her request though was hard to ignore and even though the last few years or so haven't been the best, I am still very much her friend.
With that acknowledgment to the relationship I share with Alice being a driving force behind my return I pulled up the driveway and parked. Taking a deep breath, turning off the ignition and grabbing my pack I stepped out of the car, and looked around the house and yard I had once called home.
