First and Last Freedom - (A Short Story)

 Location: Willow Beach COE Campground, "A little past Little Rock" (bonus points if you know the song).

Caution: this is not an RV traveling post so leave now if that is what you expect. If not, read on at your own risk.

As ya'll know, I've been in some campgrounds on this trip in which I couldn't get a good cell signal and without a cell signal, I don't have internet. Combine that lack of internet with a dwindling desire to explore those locations and I found myself taking longer walks around the campground. Just like me and "thinking benches", my walks are usually "thinking walks". Sometimes that thinking will take the form of a fictional short story. Of course, although fictional, there is always a large piece of truth in the story. This is one such story:

First and Last Freedoms

After dinner, he walked up behind her chair and brushed her grey hair away from her ear. He leaned over and kissed her gently on the cheek. No one in the room paid much attention because this was a routine that was established many decades earlier. Had they been paying attention, they might have seen him whisper two words in her ear and may have overhead him tell her, “Tonight, midnight.” She instantly knew what those words meant and they brought a big smile to her face. Their teenage grandson saw her smile and jokingly asked her if she had gas. She laughed a little and cryptically replied, “No, but we will probably get some later tonight”. Her husband gently squeezed her shoulder as if to say, “Don’t give away our secret”. Nobody picked up on the clue and their grandson just thought both of them were a little crazy. He was waiting at midnight as the porch light came on and she walked out the door.

It’s strange how the years go by so quickly. One minute you are a teenager with a brand new driver’s license and a cheap car that barely runs. The next you’re a 76 year old man whose driver’s license is about to expire and you know it won’t be renewed. That driver’s license has always represented freedom but the time was near when that would end. Oh, their kids are trying to make it easier by saying we will be “chauffeured” from now on as if that will make losing the freedom easier to handle.

My wife and I met on the day I got my first driver’s license. We were both at the Driver’s License Bureau, each taking the written test. I noticed her right away but she was too distracted with the test. After I completed the driving portion and received my license, I decided to hand around the parking lot in hopes of meeting the girl. She had pitch black hair with green eyes. I had never seen such a combination and it captivated me. I hadn’t noticed anything else about her because I couldn’t get beyond the hair and eyes and that bothered me a little bit. As I was daydreaming about her and my new license, she came walking by and almost bumped into me. She was obviously sad and mad so I asked her what was wrong. She told me that she had failed the test and would have to wait two months before being able to take it again. I boldly told her that I had gotten my license and would be glad to take her anywhere she wanted to go. She wasn’t sure if I was making fun at her failing the test or if I was serious. She decided to test me. She gave me her address and told me to be there at midnight and she would leave the house when the porch light came on.  I silently thought, “Wow, I’ve hit the jackpot”, but knew that wasn’t the right answer so I tried to be cool and stammered, “Sure, I’ll be there”.

He arrived at her house fifteen minutes early and waited for the porch light to come on. At the stroke of midnight, the light came on and she opened the door. She wasn’t sure he would actually be there so she looked around until she saw his car then walked steadily and confidently to it. She stopped at the passenger door and waited. I asked her what was wrong and she curtly replied, “A gentleman always opens the door for a lady”. That was the first of many lessons she would teach me over a life-time. I hurriedly got out and ran to the other side to open the door. She got in and sat down in a true lady-like fashion. After I crawled back behind the steering wheel, I realized that I didn’t have a clue on where to go. I asked her, “Where to”? She replied, “I thought you would know”. We both laughed and that broke the ice for the evening. I told her that I needed to stop for gas, hoping it would impress her with my ability to pump it and pay for it. After fueling up and still with no destination in mind, we agreed to just drive around and enjoy our freedom. Hours passed, and we talked about everything. We told each other about our past and plans for the future. It was as if we had known each other our entire lives. It was during those hours of simply driving around that our two lives became one life.

For the next sixty years, we were never farther apart than necessary. Whenever life felt like it was crashing around us, one of us would always say, “Tonight, midnight” and we would just drive and talk until it felt ok to go home.

Tomorrow, my license will expire and our freedom will be reduced, but tonight, in our minds and memories, we will both be sixteen year old kids again just driving around.  

Darrell Goza

August 21, 2024

Taken on a trip to Galveston before I retired and started full-timing. It was a couple of senior (seasoned) citizens walking along the beach. I watched them until they were almost out of sight. It was a comfortable feeling. 

Ya'll take care of each other. Maybe I'll Cya down the road.