So, Saturday, five days after I entered the hospital, I was released; and on Sunday, I flew back home to recover. And, let me tell you! Flying by wheelchair is the ONLY way to go!
Once I got home, I faced 8 weeks of recovery. The first week, I held my stomach like a baby and shuffled around like an old woman. I slept most of the day and popped my pain meds as often as I was allowed. In that time, Gracie came to live with us. She had been kicked out of her home with nothing more than her clothes in trash bags.
After four weeks, I was ready to get the heck out of dodge, so I took the first ride to Charleston... literally. I was visiting my Dad when out of the blue my uncle Steve showed up happening to be on his way to the famed city by the sea. He offered me a ride, and I jumped on it!
The next day, Monday, I woke up in my favorite city in the world with high hopes of starting a new life here. Jobless, homeless, carless... I had nothing more than a bag of clothes and my guitar. But, I was happy and hopeful and surrounded by the best friends a girl could have.
A day turned into a week and nothing happened... Actually, LOTS happened, but roots never sprouted, and a week blossomed into a month, and I was still jobless, carless, and homeless (living at Kimmie’s for the time). I fell more in love with dancing, though, having gone dancing on the pier several times; I spiraled into adoration for kids as I helped Tracy with Owen and Rosie; and I met the man of my dreams. NO REALLY!
It started as a way to kill time, meet some people, and maybe score a few dates... nothing serious, right? The first time I chatted with Chad, it was utterly forgettable. In fact, I didn’t recognize who he was the second time he IMed me. We talked about how he’d never been to Hooters until his roommate took him for his birthday the day before, and I honestly forgot I even talked to him once our conversation was over. But the following Tuesday, the same week I arrived in Charleston, Chad and I spoke on the phone for the first time. We talked a total of 25 hours that week--one session lasting almost ten hours! We just couldn’t get enough of each other! And by Friday’s conversation (which lasted five hours, by the way), Chad told me that he wanted to pursue a more serious relationship with me; he told me he was smitten with me and loved everything about me. Needless to say, I was rather floored by this news, and, while I enjoyed talking to him and looked forward to getting to know him better, I wasn’t at ALL expecting to start a relationship with him! I’d never even MET this cat!! However, if everything he said was true, I could easily fall in love with him. Several times that first week, I wondered if he’d read my journals because he was saying EVERYTHING I wanted to hear... and that freaked me out a bit.
So, how did I react? I pulled back! This guy was talking about a potential lifetime with me, and I was just looking for a good flirt. I told him that I needed some time to think about his proposal (no, not THAT kind of proposal!!). I said that I needed the rest of the weekend to pray and think about all that he had said. He told me to take as long as I needed, and if I needed more time, he’d wait on me. “I’m not going anywhere, Laina. I’m going to be here as long as it takes you to come to a decision. Take your time,” he said... well, that pretty much made my decision for me... I WANTED HIM!! And by noon on Saturday, I had come to my decision, but Tracy made me wait until Sunday night to contact him. So, I did, and the house rule was that NOBODY was allowed to talk about him. TORTURE!!
Sunday night rolled around and I was DYING to talk to Chad, but people came over, so I had to be polite. I gave them until 9, and then I would be occupied. On Saturday, I had drafted a letter to Chad explaining everything and saying that I wanted to meet him face-to-face before I went any further with our relationship. The earliest he could come was two weeks from then, but he would do it. In the interim, we continued to talk and grow closer, but the build up to The Meeting was intense! What if the chemistry just wasn’t there? What if he had annoying mannerisms? What if he liked me but I didn’t like him--or vice versa? So many “what ifs” swirled around my head that I got dizzy. The greatest thing about Chad, though, is that I was comfortable with bringing these issues up with him. So, by the time Friday rolled around, I was nervous with excitement not insecurity.
The last thing I wanted was for mine and Chad’s first meeting to be ordinary. Since he was coming to see ME, though, I took the responsibility to plan our first evening together. I kept it a secret, not even telling him where to meet me until he was just outside Charleston and I texted the address to him!!
It all started at Barnes and Noble. We had talked several times about how much we both loved the bookstore, so I thought it would be an appropriate first meeting place. But, I wasn’t content to just BE there waiting on him... I wanted a little excitement and adventure. So I sent him on a scavenger hunt.
The New PostSecret Book
9 years ago
