I couldn’t believe it! A big gray van pulled into the parking lot on the side of our apartment building. Mr. Ron, Chucky and Ronnie had driven from Moss Bluff, Louisiana to see me and Mom. Mom did not tell me they were coming. It had been almost a year since I’d seen them. I had not been allowed to see them when I lived in the brown house in Sulphur because of an argument between Mom and Mrs. Rose. The excitement when I saw Chucky get out of the van is hard to explain. My world brightened up. The hands had been removed from my neck and I could breathe for the first time in a year. It was all of that and more.
Ronnie was so tall and handsome. Chucky was taller and was missing teeth. I was overwhelmed with peace looking at that snuggle toothed smile! Mom had packed all of our things and was ready to leave as soon as they arrived. I don’t remember them even coming into out apartment. I would have been very embarrassed to show them I didn’t have a room so that was fine with me.
We all got into the van and drove to a beach house on Padre Island that evening. We stopped and ate on the way. Ronnie, Chucky and I ran and jumped in the ocean as soon as Mr. Ron turned off the engine. Our clothes were soaked in seconds as we splashed each other. The water was so warm, like a bathtub. Ronnie laid on his back and let the waves take him out further than I could swim. The boys pretended the current was drowning them and I’d try my best to save them from being drug out into the ocean. It was dark outside and I couldn’t see my feet in the water or what was in it but I didn’t care. There was nothing that could take way how amazing this moment was for me. Our parents called us in the beach house and we showered separately which was new for Chuck and I. We’d always taken baths together with swimsuits on when I’d visit his house but we were older now. I was 7 and he was 10.
We stayed up all night and he told me about everything he’d been doing. He was still in karate and was a black belt like Ronnie. He was playing football and basketball. We listened to his Walkman and he taught me how to do the humpty dance. We didn’t have any dolls and action figures to play with but we laughed and told stories until we fell asleep.
Ronnie slept in his own room next door. My Mom and Mr. Ron slept someplace else. I heard their voices throughout the night. Mom seemed happy to be with the Griffiths. Chucky and I talked about his parents’ divorce and we played with the idea of my mom and his dad getting married so we could be brother and sister. It was a fun idea that may have led to my memory of this trip being a romantic trip for Mr. Ron and my mom. I’ll never know what the trip was about but Mr. Ron was my father’s best friend and he was here spending the night with us, without my Dad.
I assumed we would be going back with them but we didn’t. Mr. Ron dropped us off at our apartment the next day. Chucky and I cried when I got out of the van and we said our goodbyes. I was sad to see them leave but it gave me more hope than I needed that everything would be back to normal one day.
Mom and I settled back into our routine. I would ask her about Mr. Ron and Chucky coming back to see us and she seemed to be open to the idea. Chucky called once to say hello when they got back to Moss Bluff. Long distance calls were expensive and neither of our families could afford to talk to each other very often.
The only other phone call I remember getting was my from oldest brother’s wife, Beckett. Sometimes she would even call when Mom was gone to check on me. She was the only person from my family that I remember talking to. Beckett began sending me cards and she would send small boxes of dolls and toys and coloring books. Since my father wasn’t allowed to know where we were, those packages were very special to me. I’d run down the parking lot to check our mail and my eyes would light up when there was a slip notifying me that there was a package to be picked up at the office. Beckett was a lifesaver and made me feel like someone in my family actually cared.
Saving Elizabeth 