Chapter 13
I was fairly comfortable lying in the back of the van, the ability to change my position a little bit helped. The three of us chatted back and forth about a variety of things until I dozed off for a while. I woke up later to hear music playing on the radio, wondering how long I had been asleep. I had given Lauren’s cell phone back because they were going to dispose of it the first chance they got. I really had no way of knowing what time it was. “Mattie?” Lauren asked.
“Yes?”
“I need to stop for gas, so I need you to cover your head for a little bit.”
“OK,” I replied, doing as she asked. I heard the blinker and felt her slow to turn into a gas station. She stopped the van. I heard both doors open, and they got out, leaving me alone in the van. They were only gone for a few minutes, then we were back on the road again. I dozed off again but was awakened after a while by Eva calling my name.
“Yes?”
“We will be at the VRBO house in about 10 minutes.”
“Great,” I replied. I was relieved that we were going to be able to get out of the vehicle soon. I needed to use the bathroom and stretch a little bit. “What time is it?”
“It’s one o’clock in the afternoon,” Lauren said. I was surprised to find out how much time had passed; I must have slept for several hours. A few minutes later I felt the van slow, and heard the blinker turn on.
As the van came to a stop, Eva said, “I have to go in the house to open the garage, so hang on a few more minutes.” I heard her get out. Shortly afterward, I heard a garage door opening up. Lauren pulled the van into the garage; I heard the garage door shut as she turned off the van. Lauren got out of the van, coming around to the back with Eva. They unpacked all the bags from around me and then helped me climb out. I stood, stretching, getting my legs limbered up a bit before trying to walk.
“There is a bathroom right inside, and you won’t be seen going there.” Eva pointed to the door to the house.
“Thank you,” I replied, walking into the house.
By the time I came back out to the garage, they had my bags sitting on the floor next to an SUV that had to have been mine. “We didn’t want to touch the car, just in case.”
I understood what they meant, if I had an accident, stopped, and my car was examined in any depth they didn’t want their prints anywhere on it. I noticed they had used a towel to pick up my bags. The SUV was a fairly new one, a pretty dark blue. I am not a car nut, but it seemed very new. It was a Chevy Traverse and looked like it would get very good gas mileage. I went around to the back, opened the hatch, putting my bags in. I turned to Eva and Lauren, with tears in all of our eyes, we gave each other hugs, saying our goodbyes.
They went into the house, standing just inside the door, so they could open the garage door for me. I climbed into the car and found an envelope under the passenger seat. I looked through the envelope, finding my new set of IDs, Social Security card included, two credit cards, a new cell phone, ownership papers for the car, along with the deed for the house. The key fob was there for the car. I also found a set of keys that I assumed were for the house.
There were also papers for a security system that had been installed in the house with the code to disarm it when I got there. I pulled out another envelope, in it was a large amount of cash. A quick count of the money showed $5,000 in various bills. I put some in my pocket, thinking it would be enough for gas and food along the way, even though I had no idea what things cost now. I also put my driver’s license with one credit card in my pocket.
Everything else I tucked back into the envelope, putting it back under the seat for now. I didn’t see any map or directions to the house, but there was one post-it note that only said ‘GPS’ on it, so I figured that the destination was already programmed into the car’s system. I turned the SUV on and waved to Lauren and Eva. They opened the garage door. I looked at the map on the screen of the car, it was giving me directions. I backed out of the garage and was soon on the way to my new home .
According to the GPS, my new home was another 20 hours away. I decided to drive as far as I could, then stop for the night. I felt really well-rested at this point, with the naps I took in the back of the van. I checked over the car’s interior, noted the low mileage on it, and was impressed. It would be a very reliable car for me and the baby, very low maintenance, and hopefully not cost a lot for gas.
Right now, I have a full tank of gas. I had to drive on the interstate, which I had never done before but had been in the car when Allen drove, so I wasn’t too nervous. Once I got onto the interstate, I set the cruise control and found a radio station to listen to. I enjoyed the music and the changing scenery as I drove along. I drove for several hours before I felt like I needed to make a stop.
I pulled off of the interstate, stopped at a gas station where I topped off the gas tank, used the restrooms, and bought myself a large cup of coffee. I went back out to the SUV, got into the hatch, pulling out an apple and a granola bar. I climbed back in and started out back on the interstate. I enjoyed the apple, wrapping the core up in the paper from the granola bar, the two items making me feel full for now, giving me some energy. I sipped my coffee as I drove on into the night.
The traffic thinned on the interstate as the night wore on. The large trucks were pulled off for a few hours of rest before they continued on their way. I felt wide awake, so I kept driving. I finally stopped at about 9:30, deciding I should probably get a decent night’s sleep before I continued on. The sign said I was in Sidney, Nebraska. I found a nice motel for the night, asking for a wake-up call at 5:30 the following morning.
***
I actually woke up the next morning and was showered before the wake-up call came. I loaded my backpack back in the SUV and drove to a gas station to top off the tank. I then found a coffee shop that was open, went through their drive-through to get some coffee and a breakfast sandwich, then I was back on Interstate 80.
According to the GPS, I had 13 hours of drive time to get to my new home. I couldn’t wait. I planned to stop only as I needed, getting gas and food and using the restroom. Looking at the GPS again, it looked like I would travel clear through Nebraska before eventually starting north. Having never been out of Nevada, I was curious to see what Nebraska would be like. As the day wore on, I saw fields of corn and pastures with cows and horses. There were a lot of smaller towns along the way. I drove through some larger towns, Lincoln and Omaha, then crossed into Iowa. Once I hit Des Moines, Iowa, I turned and headed north.
The rest of the trip was uneventful. Iowa was a lot like Nebraska, with fields of corn and pastures of cows. Huge wind turbines could be seen in several fields boarding the interstate. I continued to stop only as I needed to. I did know that it would be nice to be in my own home, off the road, and able to eat a home-cooked meal. One can only tolerate eating fast food for so long. Thankfully I had the foresight to pack some fruit and granola bars, which helped keep the fast food purchases to a minimum.
Finally, at about 8:30 pm, I came upon a town of about 3,000 people. I drove through the town, to the north side of the town where I turned west on a small, paved road with a mailbox at the corner. This apparently was my driveway. It led back into a group of trees, curved to the north, and then back to the west. I could see water through the trees, so I knew I was close.
Around the final curve, there was the house. I stopped the car in the driveway in front of the garage, just sitting there looking at it. It looked perfect. It had an attached one-car garage. It was a one-story blue house with a front porch. There was a swing on the porch.
Glancing up at the sun visor, there was a garage door opener. I hit the button; the garage door opened. I pulled the SUV into the garage, which held a snow shovel, snow blower, rake, lawnmower, along with a few other tools. I closed the garage door, shutting the SUV off. I went straight to the door that connected the garage to the house, using the key from the envelope to get in.
Inside the door was the keypad for the alarm system, which was beeping for the code. I put in the code that disarmed it, making a mental note to change the code to something only I would know. Walking into the house, I looked around. The door leads into a mud room/laundry area with a washer and dryer in it. That led into the kitchen. It was a cute kitchen with an open concept in the living area. It was apparent that the house had been recently updated with new appliances, countertops, and paint. I loved it.
Everything was white except for the blue backsplash and the granite countertop was white with splashes of gray and blue in it. I walked into the living area. At the east end was the door that led out to the front porch with big picture windows. The east end of the kitchen had a little eat-in breakfast nook with bench seats.
To the south end of the living room was a fireplace with a large TV hung above it. There was a sectional couch in the living room and a built-in bookcase to the left of the fireplace. To the right was a doorway that led to a hallway. The west side of the living room had floor-to-ceiling windows with French doors that led out onto a huge deck.
The view took my breath away. I went out onto the deck, which had a gas grill and some lounge chairs, and I walked to the rail. The yard sloped down a little bit, and there was a path that led down to a pier. I went down the stairs of the deck to the path and followed it down. The ground leveled out about halfway down to a firepit with more chairs around it.
I continued down the path, standing on the pier in no time. I walked out onto the pier, looking in amazement at the lake. The water was so clear you could see the bottom. You could watch the fish swim by. I even saw a small turtle swimming by.
It was not a huge lake, definitely not one that huge boats would probably be on. Following the curve of the shoreline, I could only see a handful of piers. I could see a walking path going either way from the path I had followed down to the pier. I thought I would take a walk on it soon. The view was gorgeous, I sat on the bench on the pier, enjoying the scene for a few minutes.
I went up to the house and went back inside. I went down the hallway, finding to the left a full bath, past that a little bit was a door on the right. I opened the door to find the master bedroom. It had huge floor-to-ceiling windows with a door that went out on the deck also.
There was a huge walk-in closet. The master bathroom was very nice. It had a soaking tub beside a shower. There was a king-sized bed in the bedroom with built-in bookcases on either side of the headboard.
I went back out to the hallway, investigating the next door on the left which was a small linen closet. At the end of the hall was one more bedroom. It was smaller, but still a nice size with a walk-in closet. It had windows on both outside walls. It had been fixed up as a nursery.
It had a crib, rocking chair, and changing table, with a built-in bookcase next to the closet door. I sat down in the rocking chair, I was crying. The house was perfect, I loved every inch of it. I couldn’t believe it was mine. I wished that I could call Lauren and Eva to let them know I made it. I wanted to tell them how perfect the house was.
There was one more door that I hadn’t checked out yet, so I walked back out into the hallway and headed toward the kitchen. In the corner of the kitchen was a door that I opened, discovering it led down into the basement. I went down the stairs.
The walk-out basement was fully finished. It was one large room, with a half bath and a closet at one end. It was set up as an office on one end with a play area on the other end. I would be able to work yet have the baby down here with me. There were windows, again on the west side, that looked out to the lake with a door that led out to a small patio area under the deck.
In the office area, there was a desk that had a computer set up on it with a landline telephone. There was a filing cabinet in the corner, a printer on a printer stand against the wall behind the desk. On the shelves below the printer were extra paper and ink for the printer. There was also a shredder next to the printer stand.
I went around the desk, opening drawers to find pens, paper, staples, stapler—pretty much anything I would need to run a business from home. Hung on the walls were a bulletin board, a white board, and some hanging wall files. Lying next to the keyboard was a file folder. I opened it to find paperwork pertaining to the new job that I was to start the following week. I closed it for now, vowing to come down soon to read through it.
The playroom side had playful rugs on the floor. There was a toy box and a bookcase. The walls on the playroom side were painted with fun storybook scenes. I was amazed at the work that someone had done to make this place perfect for me. Maybe it hadn’t been done exactly for me, but they had gone through a lot of work to make it suitable for either a single mother or a small family.
It was perfect. I was starting to feel at home here already. At first, the huge windows made me nervous, but there were blackout drapes that I could close at night if I felt the need to. I tried the door to the patio. It was locked, which was fine with me. I turned, going back up the stairs.
I went out to the car, carrying my few bags into the house. Once back inside, I reset the code for the alarm and then armed it. I put the few groceries away and found that the pantry was reasonably well-stocked with canned goods, a few boxed goods. There were a few items in the freezer .
I would probably need to go to the store for a few things like milk and butter in the next day or so, but I could get by for now on what was here. I opened each cupboard to examine what was there. From what I could see, there was very little I would need to buy as far as pots and pans or dishes. I would work on a list of things that I need to pick up when I venture into town.
I took my craft tote into the living room, setting it on the coffee table. I then carried my backpack into the master bedroom, putting my few items of clothing away. The linen closet was well-stocked with towels and extra bedding for my bed. I would need to pick up bedding for the crib and other baby items, but I had plenty of time to do that. I took the diaper bag into the nursery, putting the few items it contained away.
Within a few minutes, I was unpacked. I looked at the alarm clock on the bedside table. It was 9:30 at night. I was exhausted, having driven so many miles the last two days. I made sure all the doors were locked, pulled the blackout drapes, changed into pajamas, and crawled into the bed. I was soon fast asleep.