a blessed journey

after the oil change I got home, and had no sooner opened the car door when kyle called to tell me that he was ready, because he had skipped his arabic class. i also had a long and complicated voicemail from mckenna in my inbox, detailing where her keys and bags were so that we could pick them up on our way to picking her up. we organized logistics with nina, kyle and mckenna's friend, and orchestrated our rendezvous with mckenna on campus at one. 

kyle, nina and i got to campus right at one, and i felt satisfaction at having planned the time out perfectly, one of my favorite things to succeed at. mckenna was stuck in a meeting, so i got a veggie sub at subway, and by the time i was returning to the car to eat it, kyle and mckenna were walking between the buildings toward my car, ready for the road. 

i looked at the clock, looked at my zeroed trip odometer, and we were off on the crowded utah highway, full of people leaving the city or the state for the weekend, even though it was so early in the afternoon. traffic was unpleasant until we had gotten past the northern end of the wasatch front, but the music and the conversation more than made up for the less than ideal road congestion. there's a comfort in driving, passengers falling asleep in shifts, trusting you with their lives enough that they don't need to see what you are doing. it feels peaceful, driving along and seeing all the closed eyes and relaxed bodies, sleeping away the boredom of western plains and rainstorms. 

i was going almost ninety around some trucks when i saw the black and white charger going the other way on the interstate. i hit my brakes, he hit his, and i knew that i was going to be pulled over. he took an emergency turnaround, and soon flashed his lights and siren in my rearview mirror. i stopped, and he was brusque in telling me that i was speeding and did i know that not having proof of insurance was an offense that could revoke my license in idaho (this was silly posturing), and finished his stop by accusing me of being tired and suggesting that we change drivers. i looked at him, and wanted to say "no, i'm not tired, i'm pissed that you gave me a ticket, they're different looks." but i just smiled and said "no, officer, i'm fine." soon we were off again, only a few hundred miles out of boise. 

it took just over five hours to get to boise, including the run-in with the law. we filled up at a chevron and kyle had a great conversation with the attendant- she was not originally from boise, but had been living there for about a year, working at the service station. kyle waxed poetic about the people that you meet working gas stations, and i bought an energy drink. We ate Bajio for dinner, and Kyle didn't get anything, letting us on to his strategy at burritos joints: don't get anything, because nobody ever finishes theirs. it's a smart ploy, but one that everyone cannot subscribe to. 

i gave kyle the keys when we left the restaurant, and sat in the passenger seat to dj for the next couple of hours.