Road Trip
Day 1
This specific friend and I have been talking to via email for a couple months and he has invited me to visit numerous times. So I decided it was time to meet. I took a long weekend off and packed up my car and drove 11 hours to visit.
When I arrived it was early evening and even though we had exchanged photos of each other via email I was really nervous about what he would look like in person. He had confided in me that he was nervous as well. At least I wasn't alone in the anxiety.
So upon arriving on his doorstep with an anxious smile, I was relieved to see that he was normal, just as cute as his pictures and just as tall as he said he was.
He welcomed me with a gracious hug and peck on the cheek and I entered his mountain villa. The main room was a masculine space with 2 lazy boy chairs, a rustic paneled wall dΓ©cor and a gigantic picture window that opened up to a spectacular view of the mountain side. We have discussed this view over the phone or in messenger chat several times, but it truly took my breath away to see in the flesh. He invited me to walk around and check out the rest of the house while he took my bags down the hall and disappeared towards the kitchen.
The rest of the house reminded me of a log cabin. It had a wood burning stove in this room and across the way a fireplace with carved mantle piece. There were photos of generations of family, homemade quilts and Afghans strewn across the furniture. The atmosphere was relaxing, just as I had imagined with leather furniture well worn and inviting, a smell of cedar in the fireplace and a slight male musk. The cottage was a 2 bedroom ranch with den in the valley and large windows covering almost every wall to view the mountains from all angles. There were even bird houses and feeders outside the windows and his cat watching the birds there contently.
I wandered around from wall to wall admiring the views and the knick-knacks he had collected over the years. Some he whittled himself from soap stone or timber, others collected or received as gifts throughout the years. All of which expressed his style and quirky humor. He, we'll call him Joe, slid up beside me holding a glass of wine. This is when I noticed he was wearing sheep skinned fur lined moccasins; a pair of old faded jeans with a hole in top of the pocket and even a purple flannel shirt. As my gaze lifted to his face I noticed he was clean shaven, wearing the Detroit Tigers ball cap I had sent to him a few weeks back and grin showing those adorable dimples that I was so accustomed to seeing in photos.
"Are you hungry? Or do you want to just sit by the fire?" said Joe
Taking a sip of the wine he offered, in a real wine glass none the less, I was impressed and replied "I could eat, but can I go and freshen up a little first?" I asked.
"Sure, down the hall, first door on the left, if your reach the moose head near the garage you have gone too far."
Setting my glass down on the end table I then followed his directions and wandered down the hall. Taking in all that I saw with the interest of a child in a candy store, I made my way to the powder room. Much do my chagrin, I saw a candle lit in here smelling of pine; it was clean and neat and not at all like I thought a bachelor pad would be. When I made my way back out to the living room he was sitting in a rocking chair in front of the fireplace and had set a small table up there with grapes and crackers and sausage and cheese. The wine bottle was in a chiller and another rocker was close but across from him. The fire was warm so I slipped off my shoes and to my surprise he handed me a pair of slippers that looked just like his. These were new and had a little red ribbon around them.