Waking up naturally without the wailing of your alarm clock is a wonderful, wonderful thing. I throw my arms above my head and point my toes, getting a nice full body stretch in bed before heading to the bathroom. I slept for 10 hours and my bladder is about to burst. I wash my hands and grab my toothbrush, damn my hair isn't too bad this morning. Studying myself in the mirror as I brush my teeth, I see the bags under my eyes have mostly gone, my skin is nice and clear, and my hair is falling to my waist in natural waves after air drying last night. When I was younger, I was a dark ginger. As I got older, I became more of a medium brown /auburn and I love it. Occasionally in the fall, I'll add little hints of a deep red just to spice it up, but that's as crazy as i get.
Rummaging through my drawers for clothes, I'm working with a limited selection. I add laundry to my list of things to do this weekend. I settle on spandex shorts and an old band tshirt that I snatched from my laundry basket (don't worry, it passed the sniff test). My hair goes up into a messy bun, I then shove my wallet, chapstick and phone into a crossbody and head to find Derek.
"Good morrrrrrning!" He's been awake for hours, waiting for my tired ass to rise and shine. "Can we stop and get something to eat on the way, I'm absolutely starving." I give him a cheesy grin. "Yeah, yeah but you're buying!"
We jump in my truck, "whoosh it's hot in here." We glance at each other, do a little wiggle and in chorus, "it's getting hot in herr, so take off all your clothes. I am getting so hot, I wanna take my clothes offff." 90's music was truly the best.
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My midsized truck is nothing fancy: she's about 7 years old, leather seats, air conditioning, runs like a champ. It's the perfect car for having to drive to the city while also being functional living out in the country. We call her Black Betty. She's mostly used for things around the yard, going on dump runs with the trash, camping, fishing, blah blah. Derek's SUV comes in handy for long car-rides.
I take a left on county road 207 and Derek looks at me, "Umm, you lost? Farm supply store was back there on the right." "Duh! We're going to JT's." I refuse to look over at him, knowing what's coming. "What! You know how I feel about this place. It gives me weird culty vibes." JT's is a locally owned farm/all things outdoor store in a small town about 45 minutes away. Everyone there, both staff and customers, seem to know each other and they don't particularly love outsiders. Derek swears they're a cult, but I'm not convinced. I believe they simply prefer to help their own small community, which i happen to not be a part of. When I have the time to make the drive, I do prefer to head to JT's. They have better quality materials, and ya know support your local businesses and all that; even if they don't think I belong. Heh. "Oh look, breakfast!" I pull into cute little roadside Diner, 'Moonlight Grill'.
"You want to eat here or should I grab some breakfast wraps to go?" I see him studying the building in front of us, "I feel like eating here will give me the shits for the foreseeable future." I snort my amusement, "Oh come on, sure their sign is busted and I'm positive that paint is full of lead, but they're in the middle of nowhere and still open for business. The food must be decent. Plus, I've got meds here if you do end up with the shits." He looks at me, "Fine, we can get something to go. But if I poop in your truck, that's on you!" Haha, I know he secretly loves these little adventures I'm always dragging him on. He just also loves giving me a hard time. "Black Betty would never forgive you!" I grab my bag and head for the door.
Gingerly pulling the old, rusted handle, I open the front door to the pleasant jingling of a bell.