“I think we should get going
back,” Abby says, now that we’re standing up again anyway. “It would be bad if
your dad got to town and we were stuck out here.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” I say,
even though I’m not exactly ready to leave.
We turn to face down stream
where we mutually remember that we had climbed a waterfall to get here. With a
small sigh, I go down first, using the hand holds from the way up. The spray
from the south fork of the Kinnickinnic splotches my knees and elbows as I
lower myself to the rock at the base of the fall. I point the hand holds out to
Abby, only moments before my phone begins to ring. It’s dad; he’s off the high
way and on his way to River Falls. Looks like Abby has good timing. I tell her
so after she joins me on the rock.
The hike back to Glen Park is
rushed, but even still Dad calls again to say he’s ‘here’ by the time we make
it to the swinging bridge. So we begin to climb. At the top we say our goodbyes
while we wait/look for my Dad’s car. After several minutes, he calls but he’s
on the wrong side of the park. It’s a short jog from here, so I tell him to
stay put. I’ll be there soon.
I see him on the bridge that
overlooks the largest fall. So I jog the rest of the way over and throw him
into a hug.
“Some view,” he says gesturing
to the waterfall.
“I know a better one,” I say
smiling. “Wanna jump a fence?”
“We did that last time I was
here,” he reminds me, “but sure we can do that.”
So we walk off the bridge and
along the seemingly private land that leads to the short fence with a locked
gate. Maybe I’m impressed easily but a 61 year old man hopping a fence has got
to count for something. Anyway, we walk down the narrow path towards the best
view in town. The cliff is probably 60 feet in the air overlooking the
Kinnickinnic River glimmering in the late afternoon sun.
“So what do you want to do?”
Dad asks once we’d settled on the rocky ground.
“I don’t have anything
planned. I told everyone that I’m effectively gone as soon as you get here,” I
respond.
“Would you want to road trip
back?”
“Yes,” I say without
hesitation. I haven’t gone on a road trip in ages.
There is an old friend of his, from his days in the band, that plays in Minneapolis, so we’re going to see if we
can drop in for a show. We climb back over the fence and make our way to Kasey’s
apartment via his car. I had been living here all summer, and although it never
really felt like my place (because it wasn’t), I was certainly going to miss
it.
When we walk in the door,
Kasey is potting a collection of stolen baby spider plants in various stages of
growth. She seems to have two of each developmental stage. Earlier today, she
told me of her plan to see if letting the plants watch Rhett & Link influences their growth. I wonder if she’ll
vlog about it.
Anyway she is surprised to
hear that I am leaving tonight. The plan was that I would stay there until
Thursday morning. However, I had packed my whole room up that morning so I
suppose even my subconscious knew that I wasn’t going to stay there. The three
of us are quickly able to load my stuff into Dad’s vehicle. All of my clothes
and personal effects fit into a small backpack and a shoulder bag. That would
have been it, but over my time in River Falls I had somehow managed to accumulate
several (well four) very large bags of books.
It feels wrong how unceremonial Kasey
and my goodbye was. There was a tight
hug and generic well wishing, and although I do not know what could or should
have been added. I can’t shake the feeling that there should have been more to
it. Maybe it’s just because I come from a family that takes forever to say good
bye.
All the same, I will miss
my roommate and best friend. I hope she doesn’t go ahead and finish Sailor Moon
without me.
No comments:
Post a Comment