Texas to Tennessee

For years, Texas had been my home. I was born under that big blue sky, and I’d never wanted to leave. In the summers, my family (mom, dad, and me) would go down to this little lake and we’d camp there for an entire week. Dad and I would fish and mom would sit there by the water laughing and skipping rocks. When school started I would sit at the “popular” table with all my friends, talking about what party we were going to go to that weekend. Then, on days I wasn’t busy, I’d ride my horse on the ranch we owned, sometimes bringing my boyfriend along. I could never explain the feeling I got when I felt the wind in my face. It was all so perfect. Too perfect. And as we all know, nothing lasts forever.

Dad and I were sitting in the terminal of the airport, waiting to catch our plane. I was sitting on the window seal while dad sat four feet away. He was looking at his ticket, the same thing he’d been doing for the past hour. Airports smelled like old feet and too much bad air, I noted. Looking across the room, I saw a man in his Army uniform. He was sitting by himself, his head in his hands. I watched him for awhile, then, he finally looked up. I could tell instantly that he’d been crying. I couldn’t help myself but to wonder what could possibly be going wrong in his life? I mean, nothing could be as bad as what I was going through. Not that I’d admit it. When everyone asked how I was I always replied with an “I’m fine” and as far as everyone else was concerned, I am fine. But as I watched that man, I wondered what he was sad about.
Over the intercom we were informed that flight 34 to Tennessee was now boarding. I grabbed my bags and followed my dad as we all marched through the jetway and onto the plane. I took one last look at the Army man before I walked through, he was looking at me. I waved and then took my first step into my new life.
Never in my life had I been on a plane, nor had I wanted to. In Texas, I had had everything I wanted at the tips of my fingers, all my relatives lived there and there were all different type of scenery all over the state. There was no reason for me to leave. But now, dad thought there was. So, we’d sold the ranch, packed up all out things, and well, ended up on a plane to Tennessee.
Dad let me have the window seat. I guess he remembered how much I love looking at the sky. But to tell you the truth, I would’ve taken any view besides having to look at my dad. The plane took off and I closed my eyes hating the feeling that I was getting on my stomach. Then, before I knew it, we were off the ground and into the air.
“Would you like anything to drink Mr. Grey?” A flight attendant came up to us, wearing a blue minidress and black heels. I never understood why someone would want to walk around in heels on an airplane, but hey, who was I to judge?
“Umm, sure. I’ll take a coffee.” He looked over at me. “Ali, would you like anything?”
“Coke.” My answer was just like how I replied to everything these days; short.
“Okay! I’ll get that for you right away.” The flight attendant’s smile was too white and her lips were too red. I almost rolled my eyes at her, but I decided that was probably a little too rude.
She was back in two minutes, holding my coke and my dad’s coffee. I soon learned her name was Trixie. Her name fit her so well.
“Call me John.” I heard my dad say.
I sharply turned my head just in time to see her shake his hand in a ridiculously flirtatious way. There was my father, shaking hands with some lady who looked like she wasn’t even twenty. It made me want to be sick. I looked back out the window, trying my best to ignore my dad.

The flight from Texas to Tennessee was nonstop so I was relieved when we finally landed. Why? 1. Because I really don’t like flying. 2. Because Trixie was driving me crazy. When I got off the airplane and into the airport it hit me. This was home now.

“Wanna get something to eat?” Dad asked as we walked by some small fast food restaurants.
“No.”
“Well, what do you want to do?”
“Go home.”
My dad gave me a disappointed look. “Alright darlin’.”
We walked out to the rent a car place. Dad had told me that we’d rent a car to get us home and to get us to an actual car lot and then we’d get our own. I said I didn’t really care. We ended up getting this little Honda Civic. The forty-five minute ride it took to get from the airport to our house was dead silent. Dad parked the car in front of our new house. I got out and looked at it. The house was white with a navy door and navy shutters. There were two levels and I figured there was at least three bedrooms. Looking over to the left, I realized that there was a barn too. Why had he gotten a barn? I thought he’d said he wanted to start over from the horse ranch we had.
“I thought ‘d get a house with a barn because I know how much you love the horses. I couldn’t take everything you know away from you.” He said, as if he could read my mind. He put his arm around me, “everything’s gonna work out, Ali. Besides, school will be out in a week so kids will be all over this town.”
I faked a smile. “Yeah, thanks”
Without another word we both walked into what would become our home, someday.
I went up to my room, dragging my two bags all the way. Dad had arranged it to where the movers and decorator had out in all the furniture and even put our clothes in the closet, but I had wanted to do some of it myself, so I’d kept some picture frames in my bag. Taking a deep breath, I pushed open the door and walked in.
The room wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. There were two big windows, which would let a bunch of sunshine in. My bed was on the right said and my desk was up against a window. My fuzzy chair was in a corner, and beside it were a pile of my favorite books. My old saddle was on a rack, and my bridle and halter were on a hook. It was like the decorator had actually known me. I went to my bag and took out two picture frames, placing them both on my desk. I smiled sadly at the people in them. It was taken last winter when mom, dad, and I gone skiing. The other one was of me, my boyfriend (Chance), and my horse (Rowdy). That reminded me! I went back to my bags and grabbed my cell phone, turning it on. With all the chaos of the airplane and me being mad at my dad I had forgotten to check if anyone had called or texted me. Finally, once it turned on it showed that I had several voicemails and quite a few texts. All from my friends back in Texas.
After listening to them, I called Chance. It rang twice and then went to voicemail. Hearing his voice made me want to cry. “Chance, It’s Ali. I miss you.” I hung up the phone before the tears could come. I went to my closet and looked over it quickly, noticing how all my clothes were neatly placed and how my shoes were in a long row at the bottom. I grabbed my boots, put them on as fast as I could and then ran downstairs and out to the barn.
Even though I’d never been in the barn before, I still got the same “homey” feeling. There weren’t any horses in the stalls, so I figured dad was gonna let me pick them out myself. I went to the middle stall and got inside of it, closing and locking it behind me. I sat down in the shavings and started to cry. It was the first time I’d cried since the funeral. And even then, I hadn’t cried in front of anyone. My phone started ringing. I looked at the caller ID and saw it was Chance. I got butterflies in my stomach as I answered. “Hey”
“Ali, hey! How are you?” His voice sounded so sweet.
“I’m...well, how are you?” I dried the tears off my face.
“I’ve been better. I can’t believe you’re gone though.”
“Me either. I miss Texas and I haven’t even been here an entire day.”
There was some commotion and a girl’s giggle on the other end. “Who’s that?” I asked.
Chance hushed someone and then came back on the phone, “oh, just my sister. Listen, I gotta go. But I’ll talk to you later.”
“Oh..” a sinking feeling overcame me again. “Okay. Well, bye.”
“Bye Ali.” and then he hung up.

I guess there wasn’t much more I could do except sit there, in the shavings and hay, gripping my knees and letting the tears that I’d been holding in the entire phone call fall. I knew Chance better than he thought I did. Chance doesn’t have a sister. I hadn’t been out of Texas for a day and already Chance had been hanging out with another girl. And as angry as I am, I’m not even thinking about calling him and breaking up with him. What’s the point? It’d just hurt more.
After thirty minutes of a good cry, I stood up. I may not like Tennessee but I had to make my dad happy. He’d been through a lot too and recently...the past few months...well, I just needed to be a good daughter now. I patted off all the shavings on my jeans and then walked back into the white house. I knew where my dad was before I’d even walked through the door. The kitchen.
I was right. He was sitting at the table, looking out the big glass window, obviously thinking about something. “Daddy?” I used the voice I used to use when I was younger, the one every girl uses when she wants something.
He looked at me, his eyes a little red (proof of him crying). “Uh oh. What did you do?”
I almost laughed. Him and mom always asked me what I’d done whenever I went to them acting like this. Only, those times, unlike now, I had most likely done something wrong. “Nothing. I was wondering if you would take me into town...I want to find a western store so I can get some new tack stuff.”
Dad looked so surprised. Even in Texas I hadn’t asked him to take me places. Since I was fifteen, most of my friends were sixteen and seventeen (because I was younger in my grade) so I always had them drive me places. Truth be told...whenever my family wasn’t on a trip or working on the ranch, I wasn’t really around the house much. And I’ve regretted that more and more recently.
“Hmmm...give me an hour. I’ll look up some places around town, and then maybe we can grab lunch.” He started getting out his computer.
“Dad?”
“Yes?”
“The town is only a few miles around. You make five left turns and you’re back where you started. I don’t think we need a map.” A giggle escaped me. I couldn’t help it. I was a girl from a pretty big Texas town, and now I was in a one horse town.
He was amused. He hadn’t known that I’d researched this little Tennessee town. But I had. “Okay then.” dad grabbed the rental keys off the counter and together we headed out to the driveway.