Page 22 of Mia Amata

It was another restless night, as I thought it would be, I spent it more or less napping while I watched parts of movies. I woke up at about 4:30 am, deciding to get up. I showered, packed the rest of the items I would need into the backpack and carried it out to the table, along with the cell phone.

My stomach was a little upset, but I knew I should try to eat something. I made some toast, grabbed a banana, poured a glass of milk, and sat down at the table to eat. At about 4:45 am, Lauren sent a text message asking if I was ready. I replied that I was, quickly washed up the few dishes I had used, brushed my teeth—ready or not, it was time.

Lauren and Eva came down. We gathered up my bags and headed to the garage. The back gate of the van was open, so we walked back there. They had lay down a few blankets and pillows for me to lay on. I climbed in and was able to get comfortable—as comfortable as I could.

I had the book and a couple snacks along with bottled water. They packed my bags next to me, then their suitcases. They piled blankets and pillows over top of me but left my head uncovered for the time being. Lauren told me that if they felt I should cover my head they would let me know, then just pull one of the pillows or blankets over top. I could look out the window this way which definitely should help with my claustrophobia.

Lauren and Eva looked over the way they had packed everything in. I actually had a little bit of room, so I could change positions as needed yet remain hidden. They were satisfied with the way things looked from all angles and then closed the gate. I heard them climb into the front seat, start the van. Shortly afterward, we were backing out of the garage and headed to my new life.

Chapter 13

I was fairly comfortable lying in the back of the van, the ability to change my position a little bit helped. The three of us chatted back and forth about a variety of things until I dozed off for a while. I woke up later to hear music playing on the radio, wondering how long I had been asleep. I had given Lauren’s cell phone back because they were going to dispose of it the first chance they got. I really had no way of knowing what time it was. “Mattie?” Lauren asked.

“Yes?”

“I need to stop for gas, so I need you to cover your head for a little bit.”

“OK,” I replied, doing as she asked. I heard the blinker and felt her slow to turn into a gas station. She stopped the van. I heard both doors open, and they got out, leaving me alone in the van. They were only gone for a few minutes, then we were back on the road again. I dozed off again but was awakened after a while by Eva calling my name.

“Yes?”

“We will be at the VRBO house in about 10 minutes.”

“Great,” I replied. I was relieved that we were going to be able to get out of the vehicle soon. I needed to use the bathroom and stretch a little bit. “What time is it?”

“It’s one o’clock in the afternoon,” Lauren said. I was surprised to find out how much time had passed; I must have slept for several hours. A few minutes later I felt the van slow, and heard the blinker turn on.

As the van came to a stop, Eva said, “I have to go in the house to open the garage, so hang on a few more minutes.” I heard her get out. Shortly afterward, I heard a garage door opening up. Lauren pulled the van into the garage; I heard the garage door shut as she turned off the van. Lauren got out of the van, coming around to the back with Eva. They unpacked all the bags from around me and then helped me climb out. I stood, stretching, getting my legs limbered up a bit before trying to walk.

“There is a bathroom right inside, and you won’t be seen going there.” Eva pointed to the door to the house.

“Thank you,” I replied, walking into the house.

By the time I came back out to the garage, they had my bags sitting on the floor next to an SUV that had to have been mine. “We didn’t want to touch the car, just in case.”

I understood what they meant, if I had an accident, stopped, and my car was examined in any depth they didn’t want their prints anywhere on it. I noticed they had used a towel to pick up my bags. The SUV was a fairly new one, a pretty dark blue. I am not a car nut, but it seemed very new. It was a Chevy Traverse and looked like it would get very good gas mileage. I went around to the back, opened the hatch, putting my bags in. I turned to Eva and Lauren, with tears in all of our eyes, we gave each other hugs, saying our goodbyes.

They went into the house, standing just inside the door, so they could open the garage door for me. I climbed into the car and found an envelope under the passenger seat. I looked through the envelope, finding my new set of IDs, Social Security card included, two credit cards, a new cell phone, ownership papers for the car, along with the deed for the house. The key fob was there for the car. I also found a set of keys that I assumed were for the house.

There were also papers for a security system that had been installed in the house with the code to disarm it when I got there. I pulled out another envelope, in it was a large amount of cash. A quick count of the money showed $5,000 in various bills. I put some in my pocket, thinking it would be enough for gas and food along the way, even though I had no idea what things cost now. I also put my driver’s license with one credit card in my pocket.

Everything else I tucked back into the envelope, putting it back under the seat for now. I didn’t see any map or directions to the house, but there was one post-it note that only said ‘GPS’ on it, so I figured that the destination was already programmed into the car’s system. I turned the SUV on and waved to Lauren and Eva. They opened the garage door. I looked at the map on the screen of the car, it was giving me directions. I backed out of the garage and was soon on the way to my new home.

According to the GPS, my new home was another 20 hours away. I decided to drive as far as I could, then stop for the night. I felt really well-rested at this point, with the naps I took in the back of the van. I checked over the car’s interior, noted the low mileage on it, and was impressed. It would be a very reliable car for me and the baby, very low maintenance, and hopefully not cost a lot for gas.

Right now, I have a full tank of gas. I had to drive on the interstate, which I had never done before but had been in the car when Allen drove, so I wasn’t too nervous. Once I got onto the interstate, I set the cruise control and found a radio station to listen to. I enjoyed the music and the changing scenery as I drove along. I drove for several hours before I felt like I needed to make a stop.

I pulled off of the interstate, stopped at a gas station where I topped off the gas tank, used the restrooms, and bought myself a large cup of coffee. I went back out to the SUV, got into the hatch, pulling out an apple and a granola bar. I climbed back in and started out back on the interstate. I enjoyed the apple, wrapping the core up in the paper from the granola bar, the two items making me feel full for now, giving me some energy. I sipped my coffee as I drove on into the night.

The traffic thinned on the interstate as the night wore on. The large trucks were pulled off for a few hours of rest before they continued on their way. I felt wide awake, so I kept driving. I finally stopped at about 9:30, deciding I should probably get a decent night’s sleep before I continued on. The sign said I was in Sidney, Nebraska. I found a nice motel for the night, asking for a wake-up call at 5:30 the following morning.

***

I actually woke up the next morning and was showered before the wake-up call came. I loaded my backpack back in the SUV and drove to a gas station to top off the tank. I then found a coffee shop that was open, went through their drive-through to get some coffee and a breakfast sandwich, then I was back on Interstate 80.

According to the GPS, I had 13 hours of drive time to get to my new home. I couldn’t wait. I planned to stop only as I needed, getting gas and food and using the restroom. Looking at the GPS again, it looked like I would travel clear through Nebraska before eventually starting north. Having never been out of Nevada, I was curious to see what Nebraska would be like. As the day wore on, I saw fields of corn and pastures with cows and horses. There were a lot of smaller towns along the way. I drove through some larger towns, Lincoln and Omaha, then crossed into Iowa. Once I hit Des Moines, Iowa, I turned and headed north.

The rest of the trip was uneventful. Iowa was a lot like Nebraska, with fields of corn and pastures of cows. Huge wind turbines could be seen in several fields boarding the interstate. I continued to stop only as I needed to. I did know that it would be nice to be in my own home, off the road, and able to eat a home-cooked meal. One can only tolerate eating fast food for so long. Thankfully I had the foresight to pack some fruit and granola bars, which helped keep the fast food purchases to a minimum.

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