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Visit #2 – part 6 The road back

11:35 pm Headed Out


I drove off down the highway.  I kept one hand on the wheel and put the other hand on his knee, making little circles on his soft jeans.  I played David Wilcox’s “East Ashville Hardware” CD for him – he liked it!



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvOgyJt_Xts

He fell asleep for about 30 minutes.  It validated my decision to drive, so he could drink if he liked, and sleep if he needed to, and not worry his head about directions or traffic etc.  He apologized for nodding off, but I told him it was okay.  I thought it was kind of sweet, that he trusted me to drive and could be himself.  He said he’d been in cabs in Israel – no driver scared him after that.  
12:15 pm Stopped for gas at the rest stop  

I got out to pump gas.  No one else was around.  It was so cold and windy… I thought I might freeze!  He got out and hugged me from behind, blocked the wind, put the gas cap back while I was getting my receipt.  Then he pressed me against the car and kissed me.  I wrapped my leg around him and wondered how far we could go standing outside before we froze solid.  But the cold got to us and we hopped back into the car. He kissed me and I felt warmer very quickly! 

12: 25 am Stories as we roll along

He told me stories about the conference, mentoring other officers with tips and learning from them, too.  
He told me the stories of his hardest hours in the service, being in hot spots around the world, or during an emergency when he had to be awake for 36 hours and keep his team awake.  He said it taught him not to have more than 2 drinks except when he’s on vacation and away.  He has to be ready for the phone to ring at 2 am, to race back to duty, be in command and work until it’s over.  A heavy burden.  

I told him about the lessons I learned from my work… nothing quite as dramatic, but still telling him why I am the way I am. 

I felt so close to him, driving down the road in the dark in the middle of the night, sharing the deepest moments that made us who we are, the road we’ve traveled since we were teenagers.  


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