A combination of my updates from the road and her own projections for how long the trip should take me let her come up with an estimate for when I’d pull up to the apartment. And she wanted to make sure she was there to see it. After all, she was the reason I had this apartment. Snagging a place to live wasn’t easy on just a couple of weeks’ notice. Not even in Astoria, Oregon.
Obviously, I couldn’t make the trip to apartment hunt while I was scrambling to scoop up my life from Michigan where I’d been for the last few years and relocate it all back home. In theory I could have rented the apartment sight unseen, but that didn’t appeal to me. Not that I thought I would show up to a rat-infested flop house someone had adorned with a front door wreath and some air fresheners and called it quaint. The area I chose was good, and I was familiar with the building, which was why I chose it in the first place. But I still wanted to see what I was getting myself into. Just in case.
So I sent Stephanie as my proxy. Armed with her phone camera and a list of what I was looking for in my new place, she went to the viewing appointment. She took pictures, made a video, and asked every question I had. As well as a few of her own. I was pretty sure those were only so she could keep talking to the attractive young real estate agent. In the end, this was the place I settled on, and I was finally here, ready to move in.
My muscles ached when I climbed out of the door to the truck and dropped down to my feet. Stephanie ran forward and gathered me up in a huge hug.
“I’m so glad you’re finally here! I’ve been waiting for you all afternoon,” she said.
“I figured you would be,” I said, giving her a tight squeeze.
Stephanie grinned as she stepped back from me and looked me up and down. “You look great.”
Glancing down at my black stretch pants and lightweight long-sleeve shirt, I looked up at her with an incredulous lift of one eyebrow.
“How was your trip?” she asked.
“There’s a distinct possibility some of my muscles and joints are permanently molded into the shape of the seat,” I said. “But other than that, it was decent. There were a few hours in there when it was even fun.”
“And a few hours when it wasn’t?” Stephanie asked with a short laugh.
“Something like that.”
“How’s your dad doing?” she asked.
Some of the humor and frivolity drained out of me at the mention of my father. He was the entire reason I was back here in Astoria after spending the last few years in Michigan. It wasn’t that I didn’t love my hometown. But after going to graduate school in Michigan, I realized I’d settled in there and was doing well. My friends there convinced me to take a very good job offered to me by a headhunter before I even graduated, and I settled into a new life. It wasn’t easy being away from home and the people I loved the most, but I enjoyed it there. I never thought I’d be brought back so suddenly.
“The breaks are pretty bad,” I said. “Both legs sustained multiple fractures. He has a long recovery ahead of him. It will be a long time before he’s able to even start physical therapy, and until then, he’s essentially bedbound.”
“I’m so sorry,” Stephanie said. “I can’t imagine how scary that is.”
I shook my head as I started around to the back of the truck. “He shouldn’t have been up on that roof. He’s not the young man who started the contracting company, and he can’t just do everything he used to.”
“But you know there’s no telling him that. He’s never going to admit he can’t put everything on his own shoulders and do it with ease.”
“Well, he’s going to have to now. At the moment, he can’t put anything on his shoulders but a T-shirt. And even that is a bit of a challenge.”
Stephanie laughed. “We’ll see how long it takes before he starts trying to come up with creative ways to not follow doctor’s orders.”
“Probably tomorrow.” I looked at the handle to the door and sighed. “Alright. Let’s do this.”
The sound of the metal door sliding against the metal frame, then slamming into place was like a drumroll leading up to the reveal of my stuff shoved into the back. Stephanie stared at it for a few seconds, blinking. “Wow. That’s… a lot.”
“I did have to pick up my entire life and come back here with almost no notice. It was so chaotic I didn’t have it in me to try to sort through things and decide what to bring and what to leave in storage. Besides, I don’t know how long I’m going to be here,” I said.
Stephanie looked over at me. “You don’t?”
Emotion tightening my throat, I glanced over at her. She was looking at me with sadness in her eyes.
“I built a life there, Steph. You know that. You’ve visited me in Michigan and seen my apartment, met my friends, gone to my office. I had to convince my bosses to give me personal leave so I could come here and help take care of Dad. But eventually, I’m going to have to go back. They aren’t going to just hold on to it forever.”
“I guess you’re right,” she said.
Not wanting to ruin the fun and happiness of us being back together, I gave her a grin. “You never know. Maybe something will show up and make me stay.”
We looked at each other for a few seconds before bursting into laughter. She shook her head and reached into the truck for the first box. “Come on. Let’s get this emptied out. My parents want me to bring you over to see them for dinner tonight.”
It took the next couple of hours to unload everything, but eventually the little apartment was stuffed to the gills, and I was again contemplating a storage unit. I hadn’t realized how much I’d accumulated during my time in Michigan. Maybe this would be a good opportunity to do some downsizing. Of course, if I did that, I wouldn’t have it when I went back and found a new apartment. Again.
When we were finally finished, Stephanie and I headed over to her parents’ house. They lived in the same place they did when we were little girls and played together in the tree house in the backyard. Both rushed out to hug me as soon as I got out of the car. They were like a second set of parents to me, and I was happy to get a chance to see them.
“I’m so glad you got here safely,” Melanie said.
“Do you need any help unloading?” George asked.
I smiled and shook my head. “No, thank you. Stephanie and I managed to get the truck unloaded before we came over here. I haven’t unpacked anything, yet. But just having everything in the apartment feels like a victory.”
“Well, come on in and help me finish dinner. You look like you could use a good meal and some relaxation.”
“I’m not going to argue that,” I said.
Stephanie and I spent the evening with her parents eating dinner and reminiscing over old times. I would have stayed longer, but the walls of boxes filling up the rooms of my apartment loomed over me. I needed to at least get the basics unpacked so I could settle in. Like I told Stephanie, I didn’t know how long I was going to be in Astoria. I came back to help my mother take care of my father while he recovered, and none of us knew how long that might be. It would be best if I was settled in as soon as possible so I could really focus on what needed to be done here.