My Story…Part 22

     I had been arguing with my wife over really stupid things. The arguments were fought very aggressively on both our ends. She would not let down and neither would I. To this day, I could not tell you what they were about. But I do remember the heat we put on each other.

     One particular evening we got into, yet another, heated argument over some damn thing and she blew her lid. She went into our closet and took all my hanging clothes and threw them on the living room floor and told me to get out. I was totally blown away by this.

     She told me she needs a break and wants me to get the hell out of her house. (Funny. My mom did the same thing several years earlier. Except she was kind enought to put my clothes in garbage bags and throw those out on the front lawn.)

     I picked up some of my clothes and grabbed several other items of clothes, my toothbrush, and I left. I had no idea where to go. It was the middle of the week, so just dropping by a friend’s house to crash was not an option. I had too much pride.

     I was also embarrassed. I did not want people to know how bad things had really gotten between us. It was a road I didn’t want to go down. And that was the same reason I also excluded going to my dad’s and my mom’s.

     I went to the gas station a mile from my house and filled up my tank. I had a ’92 Dodge Dakota. That was my baby. The first vehicle I had ever bought. I took such good care of that pickup. 

     After filling the tank up, I called the girl I had been chatting with online. I told her what had happened. She felt sorry for me and told me to go back and fix the situation. When I called my wife, she answered and told me to leave her alone. Then she hung up.

     I called the other girl and told her how my wife would not talk to me. She asked where I was going to stay and what I was going to do. I told her I had no idea. 

     That was when she invited me over. At first I turned her down. But she told me I can come out to her place and think things out and meet her.  She also said maybe she can help me make up my mind. 

     The next thing I knew, I had agreed and began my drive to Nebraska. According to the research I had done, the trip should take me 10 hours. I was leaving Michigan around 8pm. I figured I should be at her house by 6am. Actually it would be 5am because of the time zone change.

     I called home several more times to no answer. Right before I hit the Michigan/Indiana border, I tried once again. If my wife answered, I was going home. If she didn’t, and if I left the state, I wasn’t turning around.

     She did not answer, and by the fourth hour of my drive, I was rolling through the city of Chicago toward Omaha.