I was loving life more than ever, with my job going well, the pool game adding a nice bit to my income and my relationship with Rosie further blossoming with each day. I found myself dreaming of a future with her. We began talking about what that might hold and I would reassure her that the cannabis laws would be changing very soon and that I would be vindicated in my legal matters. It was silly of me to think that way but love makes you believe some silly things sometimes and this was certainly one of them. One day Rosie informs me that she will be going to California to visit with family soon and will be gone for two weeks, I felt sad that I would not see my dream girl for that long but had no problem with it. The last few days before she left we were together always and when I kissed her goodbye, I had no idea it would be for the last time.
The first few days all was fine, Rosie called me each day to say hi and tell me about her visit. After the fourth day she stopped calling, I was confused but convinced myself that she was just busy with family and she would call when she could. When she did finally call again the following week, she confirmed what I had thought but there was something strange in her voice that I could not shake and I began to worry. One night I made the mistake of going out drinking with some of my ex-colleagues from Cascade Pizza, it was a fun night and everyone got really hammered. The trouble came when one of the bartenders, a girl that I knew had a crush on me starting hitting on me. At first I politely rejected her advances and told her that we were too good of friends for that and I hoped it would end there. She was not about to let it go and continued to get more frisky, and I continued to reject her. At some point she became belligerent and questioned whether I even liked girls? It was at this point when I should have kept my big mouth shut that I blurted out that I was seeing Rosie and had been for the past few months. You could have heard a pin drop when all of the conversations screeched to a halt and everyone looked at me. I instantly knew I had fucked up but the cat was out of the bag and now I had to deal with the consequences. The rest of the night’s banter was about Rosie and how I was able to get the most beautiful girl around? I tried to remain humble but it was difficult with the admiration and respect I saw in people’s eyes as they would ask about her. Within a couple of days it seemed the whole town knew, part of me felt a sense of pride that everyone knew that the prettiest girl was with me but another part felt dread at what this would mean when Rosie returned, she had been very clear that she wanted to keep things quiet. I spent the last few days in nervous anticipation for Rosie to return only to be crushed when she finally did.
The day Rosie returned I waited by the phone all day, nothing. I considered going over to her place but thought it better to give her the night to unwind and that we would touch base tomorrow. Sure enough the next day she called, but instead of a warm greeting, I got a cold shoulder. She told me that it was over and that we would not be seeing each other again. I was shocked and devastated, what could have gone wrong? I asked why and she told me she knew about my night out and telling everyone about us, I asked how? It turns out that the bartender that I had rejected was jealous and made sure to call Rosie as soon as she got back, but instead of telling it the way it happened, she made up a story about how I was bragging about being with her and was painting a graphic mental picture for people about us. I told her it wasn’t true and to ask the others that had been there, but she had made up her mind and did not want to hear anything I had to say, she told me not to call her again. I was numb, it could not be because of this, could it? I would never know for sure but I have come to believe that there was more to it than that, most likely is when she was visiting her relatives, she told one of them she was falling for a fugitive and that was it. Her relative, coming from a more objective point of view, probably sat her down and detailed the futility of such folly, pointing out that one way or another it would end and the longer it went on, the harder the pain would be when it did. In the times ahead, I would come to see that it was the best thing she could have done. planning for a future comes naturally with love but is incompatible with being a fugitive and Rosie had come to understand this. I will always cherish my time with Rosie as it was a magical moment in time and I would not change a thing. I would only see Rosie one other time while in Washington, a smile and a wave from a car window as we passed on the street. I felt a pang of regret but just like Rosie, it was gone a moment later.
I felt an odd sense of melancholy when things ended with Rosie, I was of course sad but I was also grateful that she had been the mature one and seen reality for what it was, I don’t think I ever would have and the longer things went on, the harder it would have been. I gained two valuable insights through it all, one was that the nagging feeling I had been having since I left on whether I made the right choice in leaving, was gone. I would never again question that decision, it was now clear that I had made the right one, having a girl like Rosie, even for a short time, made everything more than worth it. The second insight was a bit more depressing, I realized that along with all the other joys of life I had given up to be free, affairs of the heart would also have to be added to the list. I did not want to have my heart broke again and life as a fugitive made that a virtual certainty, but while I would have to give up on a love life, I would not be so quick to give up on a sex life. After a short down time over Rosie, I found myself going out every night looking to score and occasionally doing just that. The one night stand lifestyle was loads of fun and I was feeling proud at my success but it was affecting my job performance at the Elk’s and one day when I went in for work, I was told by the manager that they would not be needing me any longer and that I was fired. Ouch! I didn’t see that coming, without a job my partying lifestyle would have to change. Not such an immediate problem, I had a bit of money put away from work and would be okay for a month or so, plenty of time to find new work. The other shoe would drop when the owner of the house I lived in told me that he would be selling it and that I had to move out at the end of the month. I now had two weeks to find a new job and a new place to live, I felt the dark clouds of dread swirling in my mind and wondered how I would figure this one out.
A Continuing Story About Life On The Run