Scenes from Here Author's Notes
Copyrights
: Characters, places, songs, and etc. belong to their respected owners.It's two am and Lynyrd Skynyrd is singing Free Bird on the car radio. This is the third time in the last hour he has played the same song. I'm sure some people would find this annoying. I know our other passenger would if they hadn't fallen asleep fifty miles back but I don't.
We've been driving two whole days and nights in shifts. Four hours each divided between four people. He wanted to drive the whole way but his driving makes me nervous. He's driving five miles over the speed limit now. I don't say anything. I'm anxious to get there too.
He flashes me a grin and I find myself falling in love all over again. I wish I had a poetic soul. I wish I had a way with words. Then I could write you a song that deserving of him. But all I can come up with is I love him.
I do love him. It took me nineteen years to realize I love him. Nineteen years of baseball games, movie marathons, school dances, dates, and kisses for me to realize that I honest to God love this boy with all my heart. Maybe there's a song in the middle of that worthy of being written. But not by me. All I can say is I love him.
Maybe that's enough in itself.
I turn the CD off and switch on the radio. We sing along to Carly Simon's You're So Vain. He teases me by saying the song was written with me in mind. I swat him playfully. The car is full of happy vibes. I can almost feel the vibration through the speakers along with the next song playing on the soft rock station. Or maybe that's the caffeine talking.
I've had six cokes, three bottled cappuccinos, two large cups of coffee, and three bottles of water to balance it all out. We've also made twelve pit stops today especially for me. They should stop stopping at gas stations. I can pee in the bushes. Every time I go in I buy something else to drink. I know it annoying but I need the caffeine buzz. I don't want to fall asleep. I don't want to miss a moment of this adventure.
We've had plenty of adventures together before but this one is special. More special then any other moment in my life. More special then winning any award and more special then being class president. I'd even rank it higher then my first kiss or my sixteen-birthday bash. Once we get to Memphis we're getting married.
When most people elope they fly or drive to Las Vegas but we're going to Memphis, home of Elvis Presley. We started for Vegas too but when Love Me Tender played on a local oldie station we were on our way to Tennessee. Elvis was singing our song. The first song we ever really danced too. Thanks to Elvis I was riding shotgun next to my future husband heading towards my future. We could look back on this moment and tell our children Elvis was our inspiration.
"Are we there yet?" Came a cranky male voice from the back.
This is my brother complaining. He is one of our passengers. The other is the twin sister of the boy driving. Elopers don't normally drag along or as Chuckie likes to say "kidnap" their siblings when they elope. I guess in most people's eyes it kind of defeats the whole purpose of run away together but neither of us could imagine getting married without them along for the ride.
"Almost. Go back to sleep." I tell him but he's already asleep. I think he might have been talking in his sleep.
I know he not happy about this but he is happy for us. He loves me and he's grown up with Phil. He hasn't said anything but I know what he's thinking. He's thinking we're too young to get married. He thinks it's a spur of the moment thing we may regret. He thinks it's too soon. He's my brother. I know how he thinks.
I know he worries. He always worries about me. Sometimes I think he forgets I'm nineteen and no longer a child. But I know he only worries because he loves me. He worries about all of us. It's in his nature. He even worries about the dog.
But he's here with us. He never once complained. Not when the AC broke or when we got lost. He hasn't complained about driving on the interstate (which he hates) or sleeping in the car (which makes him sick). He hasn't complained because he's my brother and he loves. I love him too.
Phil's sister, Lil, has her head propped up on her arm. Her long brown hair is blowing in the wind and she reminds me of a tragic heroine. She's been wearing the same Supergirl tank top and denim skirt the whole time. She said it made her feel strong, like a super hero. She hasn't complain either and I know this has got to be hard on her.
I wasn't there when everything hit the fan but Dil was. He still not talking to his brother.
I think everyone but Lil has always known Dil was sweet on her. I guess that why half a year has gone by and he hasn't returned any of Tommy's letters, e-mails, or phone calls.
Phil's not talking to him either. Can't say I blame him.
Even Angelica gave him hell. More hell then any of us. Even more then Lil herself.
Chuckie and I have remained neutral. So have all the folks. Lil never wanted anyone to take sides. She said it was stupid for anyone else to get mixed up in it. She tried to get Dil to make up with him but her request just falls on deaf ears.
I wish things hadn't turned out they way they did. I wish Tommy had never gotten into that film school at New York and I wish Lil and Dil hadn't decided to surprise him with a visit. I wish neither of them had seen him with Karen. Then we could have kidnapped the whole gang.
But I know Lil is strong. This is the girl that delivered her baby sister in a snow storm with some aid from a paramedic on the other line of a phone. She'll bounce back because she our Supergirl. I'm glad she's going to be my Maid of Honor.
120 miles to Memphis. I can hardly wait. I feel the need to dance and sing. I settle for bopping my head along to a great pop tune from the mid eighties.
We left our folks notes. We didn't want them to worry or have a heart attack when they discovered they couldn't find their children who were suppose to be home for Summer break. My note turned into a two-page letter discussing life, love, and how much time we have on this Earth. Phil's was allot shorter then mine.
Mom & Pops,
Kimi asked me to marry her. Decided to elope. Took Lil.
Love you
Phil
PS: Don't forget to feed Donnie.
I guess there's allot of things we haven't thought about know that I think about it. I don't think either of us has thought much about life after we get to Memphis. Or maybe I should say we haven't been thinking about anything of real importance. Phil keeps mention the wedding night. I think it's funny. Chuckie doesn't.
Maybe there's no need of deep thoughts of the future. All I see in the future is growing old with him. I can see it in my head, us rocking on the porch and holding hands. I can see our children and our grandchildren. I can see us being happy and right now that is all I care about.
I asked him to marry me because I love him. I love him and I want him all to myself. I selfish that way. I want to tattoo my name on his forehead and copyright him. I don't mind being selfish when it comes to him. I'll allow myself to act this way. The only people I ever really have to share him with after we married is his family. But I can live with that. They'll be my family too.
Betty and Howard will be my in-law; my second set of parents, and Lillian and Little Renée will be my sisters. I can share Phil with them.
I hated being away from him. After the whole "Karen Mess" our long distance relationship scared me. I know he can do better then me even if he says other wise. The only reason I feel special is because of him. It's funny how he says the same thing about me. He'd be special even without me.
He's funny and he got a comic strip to prove it. Every day he got his comic strip in there with the likes of Garfield and Foxtrot. I love how he tells stories and pokes fun at us through his strips. I wonder if the other see themselves in the two-dimensional characters when they're eating their third bowl of Coco Pebbles or drinking their morning coffee. Angelica did. Oddly enough she finds it flattering even if her other self is terrorizing the other characters. She's a weird one.
He also one of the sweetest guys on this face of this planet. He carries elderly women's groceries all the way to their cars even in the pour rain. He volunteers at his local hospital. He donates to charity and sponsors a child in Mexico. He feeds stray animals and helps out at homeless shelters. He gives allot of his time for others and does it with a smile. He could be a poster boy for the Boy Scouts (even if he did quit after they refuse to accept his sister).
He makes me laugh. He comforts me when I'm sad. He makes me smile. He makes my heart soars. He says all the right things and knows my limits. He keeps some chocolate, tissues, and some Aleeve with him incase I'm in need. He calls me up just to talk. Writes me cute e-mails when I bummed at my part time job and e-mails me a great joke everyday. He knows my favorite food, my favorite movie, and exactly where I'm ticklish. He's the greatest thing to ever come my way.
Better then yogurt in my Pop-Tarts, a gold star on my spelling test, and better then a Playstation on my birthday. He better then my summer in Japan and my stuff animal collection. He's greater then a Die Hard film and better then finding a dollar under the couch cushion. He's a more superb than a greatest hits collection of Johnny Cash and greater then firework on the Fourth of July.
He makes me feel good about myself. He makes me feel important. He makes me feel special. He makes me feel loved.
That's why I asked him to marry me. I wasn't going to wait around for him to pop the question. I was tired of waiting. It seemed that all I had been doing since I left for college and Lil and him moved north. I was waiting for phone calls. Waiting for letters. I was waiting for him. I got sick of that quick. I'm not patience. I missed him. I wanted him right there with me. I didn't want to wait by the phone or count days on the calendar.
That's why were driving to Memphis. He isn't the patience type either.
He puts his Skynyrd Cd back in. Once more we're listening to Free Bird. Lil stirs in her sleep. Phil turns the volume up louder. Lil smacks the seat with one arm and tells me to turn it down. Phil shoots me a look and I give him a sly grin return while I crank up the volume.
It's only 60 more miles to Memphis.
Ending Notes
:Donnie is his pet iguana. He want to take the dude along but Kimi said no.