Runaway

I ran away from home yesterday. It was Sunday... my granddaughter was coming over, my son would be there and DM would babysit. He said GO, so I went.

I'm tired. I need some time alone - totally alone. No husband. No kid. No pets. Just me and some quiet. That doesn't ever happen, so I took the next best thing. An afternoon.

As I turned on to the highway, the thought flitted through my mind - keep going... you have a full tank of gas. See how far north you can get. Get away from the heat and the complications of life. Don't go home. Just drive.

I did exactly that for about two blocks and pulled into the dollar theatre parking lot. I am nothing if not responsible. Much as I'd like to REALLY run away, mindless escape would have to do. I bought my ticket for this:

I remembered seeing it as a movie trailer during one of our girls' movie dates and thinking that it looked like fun, in spite of having Ashton Kutcher as one of the stars. I didn't go when it was in the "big" theatre, but I'd pay a buck to see it on a hot summer afternoon.

I got naughty iced coffee and some nachos (I had skipped lunch) and settled down in the back row of the little theatre.

It was awful. I didn't laugh once. It was turning out to be exactly the wasteland I expect from an Ashton K film - but then he and Cameron Diaz wound up in court, in front of Dennis Miller as the judge and things got interesting. And silly. And a little thoughtful. By the end, I was cheering for them to make it as a couple. Amazing. It would have been a terrific movie but for the first 20-30 minutes, which were blindingly stupid.

Feeling halfway satisfied, I left the cool dark of the theatre and headed to the mall next door and the bookstore - one of my favorite places on the planet. The phone rang and my brother Matt was on the other end (returning a phone call I'd placed several hours earlier). As it happened, he was at the gym at the other end of the mall parking lot, so he joined me for a coffee at the bookstore.

We talked about the job market, his pending move to Atlanta to join the other brothers in a place where he might actually find a job, his love life. I talked some too, about my own life and the things I think about recently. We debated going to see another movie, but the clock had moved to that weird hour where nothing is starting. Everything was at least an hour away, so we opted to do dinner instead.

We drove to a nearby restaurant for a steak sandwich (Matt) and quiche and salad (me) and more talk. It's been a while since I spent much time with Matt. He's a neat guy. He's growing his hair for Locks of Love and looks a little like Jack Nickelson at the moment with his crazy eyebrows and longish hair. For the last couple of years, Matt's hair has been about the width of my finger long. In fact, I didn't recognize him when he first walked into the bookstore! I wish I'd had a camera on me so you could appreciate this new look!

As we walked out of the restaurant, the sun was beginning its descent and I figured it was about time to head for home. DM was probably slightly crazed by children by now and he had to get up for work the next day. The granddaughter would be picked up or close to it and the rest of the evening could be spent in a semi-relaxing manner.

Which is the way it was.

One day, I might run away for real. But not yet. Not today.