He had me at "where's Dan?". That's right, not "hello". There was no time for chit chat. Ronan and Ken were hungry. They'd been on the road, from Skagway to Homer in record time. Dan wasn't at the bar. He and Lauren were having a baby that lovely late August day, so I was working his shift. Alice's Champagne Palace was hopping, as it usually was around dinner time. Ken came up to the bar so they didn't have to wait for a server. I poured them a couple of our fine Homer Brewery China Poot Porters, and served them each two dinners! So much hiking, they worked up quite an appetite.
I knew I was in trouble when he walked up to my bar. I'd spent months as the Florida girl in Alaska ignoring advances from the local boys. I know people are skeptical of love at first sight, and I was too...until Ken walked through the door. It was like being magnetized. I was drawn to him. & kinda nervous. I was hopping in my motorhome and heading back to Florida in a couple months. Granted, I'd fallen in love with Homer, and her people. But I had obligations, a car, a boat, a ton of stuff, all waiting for me in the panhandle of Florida. But, I'm getting ahead of myself.
So I continued about my business, working and fishing, and attending my friends' wedding the following weekend and guess who's there? Yep, Ken. Ronan ideas back in Ireland and poor Ken didn't have a date. ;-) We spent the evening dancing, drinking some Homer brews, and talking until the wee hours of the morning on Alice's back deck. I had an early fishing trip planned the following day, so finally we called it a night. He camped in his car next to my RV. So I banged on his window to wake him up the next day and say good morning before the fishing commenced.
We made some plans to do some fishing ourselves, but a couple friends said the Avett Brothers were playing at the Alaska State Fair and we decided to go to the show instead. We spent quite a bit of time together, he shared his rhubarb crisp and some rummy games... but I was still scheduled to leave. I picked up an extra week of shifts at work to cover a coworker's vacation...& postpone my departure. Still, time passed too quickly.
Ken told me he planned to head down to Charleston, SC as he'd paid rent in advance at his buddy's house. He offered me a ride to Panama City Beach, FL on his way east. How could I refuse? I'd fallen head over heels. Ken helped me winterize my RV, I put her in storage, we packed up the car, & headed south.
There's a lot to tell about our trip across country, but I'll save some material for later. I went to PCB, he went to Charleston, and we decided we didn't wanna live life apart. We are fortunate enough to have fabulous family down in St Petersburg, so we met in the middle. St Pete as a temporary home base allowed us to get some quality family time in, assess our situation, and remind us how much we missed Alaska and her people.
Now, we're slimming down, packing up, and heading north...but not before the Rays opening game on 4/2.
No comments:
Post a Comment