Sunday, July 16, 2006

Cali Trip - Part 4

The drive out of the coastal mountains and along the coast of Clearlake was beautiful but once she was in the central valley she knew she was home.

The drive down I-5 is one that she has made over and over. she has favorite little places to stop like the gas station in Lodi where she one broke down on the way to a Candle Show. The old ’73 Chevy gave up right in front of pump number one. So now EVERY time deidre drives past there she fills up at pump number one. It’s silly and superstitious but she figures that chances are pretty small she will break down in that exact same spot again.

As deidre drove on she knew she was getting close to the town she grew up in not only because of the signs marking the miles, but because of the smell. deidre’s home town is a dairy town. Lots of cows means lots of cow shit. Living there you get used to it, but after being away for so long she was able to start smelling it about 45 minutes out. Mmmmm…home.

When she finally arrived at her sister’s home, the home she grew up in, it looked just the same as it did when she was last there. deidre’s mother ran out, her eyes sparkling with tears as she wrapped deidre up in her arms for the first time in over 2 years. Next came out her baby sister, J, who is no longer a baby. She’s 12 years old and just beginning to become a woman.

As deidre walked inside with her bags she saw her other sister, E. We used to be so close that the plan was to marry brothers and buy an island together. A huge house would be built in the middle of our secret island, half for her, half for deidre. We would live there and be happy forever. It never worked out. Life and personality differences got in the way.

As deidre and E grew older, we began to draw apart. deidre developed an intense jealousy of her sister and apparently E developed one of deidre as well. We went our separate ways and are only beginning to get close again now that deidre is so far away.

While the outside of the house was the same as it had always been, the inside had changed. The front of the house, where deidre’s old bedroom is, was now being rented out. E lived in the back part of the house.

That night the 4 of us talked and drank wine. We brought out boxes of old pictures and elementary school art projects. We laughed. Mom cried. It was good.

Monday deidre had a doctor’s appointment in P’ville, which is about 3 hours away. It’s also the same area as Mom’s home. We all got in the car far too early, stopped for coffee, the drove up to the Sierra foothills. deidre dropped everyone else off at mom’s then was off for a check up. deidre was given a clean bill of health, but needed to make another appt for Wed to have a little procedure done. This would add another 6 hours of driving.

We spent a few more house at mom’s house then headed back down to E’s. Monday night was the annual Tractor Pull. For some reason, deidre has been very excited about this little hick event. The tractors aren’t really all that exciting; it’s the trucks that deidre loves. deidre’s always been a pick up girl and ..oh.. all of that power! To hear the rumble of the engine, feel the vibration of the ground, and see the mud flying just gets deidre’s juices flowing. There there’s all of those black haired men with their Portuguese skin and dark eyes walking around with tight wranglers, big belt buckles and cowboy hats. OMG. It was hillbilly heaven and deidre was right there in the middle of it.

deidre has no idea who won any of the events. At some point her pussy took over, and her brain ceased to function. Too soon it was over and time to go back to E’s.

Independence day in deidre’s hometown always starts with the Main Street Parade. All of the Harley men, the town sports teams, the dairies, the car clubs, the dance companies ect each have their own spot or float in the parade and it takes about an hour. The parade gets a little longer each year, but never really changes.

Afterward everyone goes to the park in the middle of town for linguisa, the frog jump, beer, live music and all of the little programs that are put on in the gazebo in the center. It’s a lot more interesting when you’re either A) a kid or B) a beer drinker. deidre is neither and we didn’t stay long.

One of the other main reasons deidre went back to California was to bring back some of her things that had been stored at E’s house. For the next few hours deidre dug through dusty boxes sorting out what she wanted and didn’t want. she had to condense it all down into 2 duffel bags that weighed less than 50 pounds each. she was able to score about 150 CDs, some of her books, including her original copies of ‘The Story of O’ and the Beauty Series, almost an entire bag full of clothes, and another huge stack of stuffed animals which included about a dozen eeyores.

That night we went to the fireworks at the High School. They were pretty typical, but there’s something magical about them. All of those sparkles and twinkles up in the sky. No matter how old deidre gets she thinks she will always feel that sense of wonder when she sees them.

Wednesday was deidre’s last full day and the day of her follup appt with the doctor. We left early in the morning again. deidre and E rode together in the PT cruiser while mom and J followed behind in mom’s car. It made more sense for mom to head home that morning too.

Ece sat patiently by deidre’s side as the doctor performed the little procedure on deidre. Somehow deidre had developed a slight fear of needles. It could possibly have something to do with the piercing from last month, but she became more rational about it after the anesthesia was injected. Of course she really couldn’t feel much at that point either. It was much quicker than the last time, and the Doctor did a much neater job this time as well. When it was done they wrapped it up and deidre was free to leave.

The four of us decided to spend the rest of the afternoon in Old Sacramento looking into shops and having lunch. We ate at one of deidre’s favorite restaurants, CafĂ© New Orleans. They have the best jambalaya and key lime pie.

When the afternoon ended we all hugged each other. Mom and J went back home. deidre and E headed back to E’s house. By the time we got back it was evening. deidre would be getting up by 4 to make the drive to the San Fran Airport and E had to work the next morning. We talked for a while and then headed to bed.

4 am came way too soon. deidre took her bags out to the car, kissed her sister goodbye and began the drive to the airport. There was another pat down, this time by a very unattractive woman. Deidre had a quick lay over in Indiana, then another in Atlanta. Finally a little after midnight she landed in Tampa. Master met her at the airport, wisked her home, into bed, and at His side right where she belonged.

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