25. The Voicemail

The afternoon it all began to come crashing down

The afternoon sun never shone brighter. In broad daylight, in downtown Hanover, New Hampshire, I danced my way down Allen Street back to my truck. Opinions be damned. Shame be damned too. I was free. I was actually free and had a chance to live my life in that incredible reality.

Taking full gulps of fresh air as I blasted the Dixie Chicks out my window, my mind drifted to Maura and the many drives we had taken together just like this one. Windows down, screaming into the wind proclaiming our freedom, country road drives were one of our favorite things to do together. No destination in mind, we always got in the truck with nothing but the open road and a full tank of gas. 

As a different song clicked over on my well-worn Dixie Chicks CD, my mind wandered back to the many adventures of the summer prior that we had shared together – the swimming holes we had discovered, the tailgating picnics we had curated with an old pizza box as a charcuterie board, and the company – yes, that above al…