“Say You Do”

My sisters came down from Las Vegas when everything happened. There was a lot of discussion of when they should come down. If they could wait till the end of the week, they could get a flight, otherwise, they would have to drive. Two adults and 4 kids. We had been told at the hospital that our mom had made it out of surgery fine and that she should be waking up once they got her up to the ICU. They were supposed to come get us once they got her settled. That didn’t happen. After the memorial, it was decided that my brother would go with my sisters to Las Vegas. He made the decision for himself. I think he knew that he couldn’t be here with me. Both he and our mom lived behind me and my mom was over at my house quite a bit so there were so many memories and things of her all around. He stayed for a few weeks and because he hadn’t ever flown and we didn’t know how he would handle the flight, we decided to meet halfway to pick him up and bring him back. We ended up making good time, or so we thought, and went a little further and met up with them to get my brother. We chatted for a few minutes and they needed to head back and we were anxious to get back on the road. We talked about eating first but they were needing to get back and my brothers’ friend wanted to take us to this little restaurant in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I was driving at this point and was so scared to wreck this rental car. We got down to the little area which was historic Old Town, Albuquerque. It was so beautiful in this there. Not that Albuquerque isn’t breathtaking, New Mexico, in general, was quite beautiful but this place was peaceful. There were so many people just walking around. It must have been prom for the high school kids because there were so many beautiful people all dressed up, taking pictures. We couldn’t find the restaurant we were supposed to go to so ended up picking one. It was so hard being there. First of all, my mom would have LOVED it there and it made me so mad that I never took her anywhere other than stupid Oklahoma. Driving around Jones, Oklahoma sure compares, right! (Nothing against, Jones. We both love Jones so much that we had always talked about moving there. And, I love Oklahoma.) Then, once we walked into the restaurant, Dierks Bentley was playing on the radio. It was in that restaurant I knew I had to be careful when I went into any establishment. I tried just walking around while we waited for the hostess to seat us but I had to sit and breathe. Dierks Bentley was one of my moms’ favorite singers and she loved almost everything he had released. She also thought he was hot, which is he. She would have been a Cougar for sure for him. Dierks Bentley has the looks and the voice to melt your very soul. I sat down and cried, which, made my brother cry. I checked myself quickly and luckily we got seated outside. Away from the music. Then, ordering. I wasn’t eating anyway. I had lost my appetite and wasn’t feeling much like food but I ate a little and it killed me. My moms’ favorite food is enchiladas. Guess what we had. The thing, though… I felt so at peace there in Old Town. It was so beautiful and I knew my mom would have loved it. I looked around and took a few pictures and thought to myself… “I’m going to look for houses here as soon as I get home.” I didn’t want to leave there. If things were a bit simpler, I would be there now. Even if it was another city, I could still drive to Old Town and walk around and be at peace with everyone there. I did include the few photos that I took. Looking at them, I wish I was there all over again.