Letters from New England Pt. 01

June 24, 2006

Dearest pervs,

I've been in New Hampshire for a few days now, and I thought that it would be a good idea for me to document all of the things that are making me so happy right now, by sharing them with you.

The bus trip out from Iowa was amazingly tolerable despite its length of forty-one hours. I took Benadryl or nighttime painkillers every so often, depending on whether my back was acting up or I just wanted to sleep. Much of the trip, I had two seats to myself thanks to a bit of luck and the fact that I can look somewhat intimidating if you don't know me. On the way to Boston, it occurred to me that I could spend a night at my mum's place if she had the room. We hadn't seen each other in close to four years – and, although she drives me insane in large doses, we get along fabulously most of the time. Then I realised that carrying around four bags that must have weighed a total of at least a hundred pounds would suck, particularly riding the subway to its farthest point. So I called off the freshly made plans with my mum, telling her that I'd head back down to the city soon. When I then went to board the final bus to Nashua, I discovered that they had temporarily misplaced my bags and I wouldn't be able to get them until the next bus, a day later. Rather than going all the way up to New Hampshire just then, I took all of it as a sign. Without the heaviest two of my four bags, why the hell wasn't I spending the night hanging out with my mother?

So I got ahold of everyone a final time and headed to Harvard Square to watch people for a while and see if I would be lucky enough to spot someone I knew and missed. No dice, though I did eavesdrop on the conversation of a wicked cute girl who sat next to me with her friends. She had a yummy shaved head and I just kept wanting to pet her. I don't remember the Store 24 being gone the last time I was down in Cambridge, which is weird. One of the old bums who used to spare change in front of the Store 24 told me that it closed six or seven years ago and he still misses it too sometimes. The folks who worked there, especially back when it was staffed almost entirely with punk rockers, were always sweet. They never bitched if you had to pay all in nickels for a sandwich or a pack of cigarettes, and they didn't mind if you puttered around for half an hour, warming up while you made Ramen noodles in a travel mug using hot water from the coffee machine. It was just one of those things from when I was younger, dumber and so damn adventuresome that it makes my head spin when I think about it now. I just can't believe that it's gone, though its loss is nothing compared to when the Rat closed right after I went out to San Francisco that one time.

Anyway, it was hot as hell outside that afternoon. I could even feel myself burning in the shade. I ended up going to CVS for an iced tea once I realized that Store 24 was no longer. I sat down to drink it while a security guard from the bank glared at me.

I remember the subway being slower... I was thinking it would take about an hour to ride from Cambridge all the way down to Braintree but it ended up only being about forty minutes. I was early, so I sat, read and smoked cigarettes on a bench at the taxi stand while I waited for my little sister and her boyfriend to show up.

It took me a few minutes to recognize my sister when they arrived – she's eighteen now and was only thirteen when I got married. I hadn't seen her since then. She has apparently begun to realise that the entire world does not revolve around her, which is nice. I'm hopeful that, when I move down to Boston, she'll actually let me be her big sister for once.

Her boyfriend seems like an incredibly sweet kid. He was quiet at first, seems a bit shy... But he had no problem going out of his way to bring sis to pick me up at the train station. As I told him, my first thought when my mum started telling me about him two years ago was that he must be a very patient fella to be dating my sister. I still think so, especially because he's lasted so long. By now, I'm sure he's seen every side of her. I just hope she's got more good days than bad now, as she used to be a right cunt ninety percent of the time.

Mum got some beer and my stepdad cooked steaks on the grill for all of us. We had a nice time playing catch up and getting to know one another again. Leah and Bob, my sister and her beau, took of pretty early, but they were cool with bringing me to the bus station in the morning so I knew I'd see them again soon.

I got to take my first shower in over a month, after all I'd had available to me was baths. To say that shower was nice would be a gigantic understatement. Mum had all kinds of girly bath stuff as usual, so I emerged from the bathroom foofily soft and scented, with the sweaty clothes from my journey in the washer and on their way to clean.

The kids showed up late the next morning and Bob announced that he had no plans for the afternoon, so he'd be happy to drive me straight up to New Hampshire after we stopped to pick up my wayward luggage. As if I'd say no to a chance to avoid riding the bus after having spent nearly two weeks on them in as many months. We stopped so Leah could grab something from her apartment and I got the nickel tour. Then we were off. I'd called ahead, so my bags were actually waiting for me when we got to South Station. The ride up was quick and easy, and we stopped on the way so I could get my first proper Dunkin' Donuts coffee in years. It was fabulous! In my absence they even started offering all kinds of flavour shots. When did they go and get all fancy?

We got to Nashua a little too early for Lizzy to pick me up, as she was working. Found a place for mum to pick up cheap cigarettes and picked a random pizza place to hunker down and have lunch while we waited. Of course, as my luck would have it, Lizzy showed up just as the pizza arrived. I ran outside to give her a hug and transfer my bags from Bob's trunk into the bed of her truck, and she shooed me back inside for a minute so I could say a proper goodbye. A few minutes later, armed with cheese pizza and two of Lizzy's clients, we made a run to drop them off before heading out to the big house in the woods.

This place is amazingly well suited to Lizzy... She's always been a big ol' hippy at heart, and here she has plenty of space to grow things. She has a lovely garden full of veggies; we've been picking baby spinach and chives, so I can attest to her prowess with the organic vegetables. There are also several flower gardens, lots of what I believe are wildflowers, and a lot of clover that grows by where the horses live. There are acres of land for the dogs to run around, along with the one kitty who is allowed outside. And then there are the horses. Being a city girl by nature, I'm not used to their massive size. They're Belgian draft horses, and I was amazed when Lizzy told me that they're still babies. They're easily eight feet tall already – I have no idea how big they'll be when fully grown. I hang out with them sometimes, feeding them handfuls of clover and petting their massive noses.

My first night out here was fantastic. We sat around drinking beer just like old times, on the porch with a fire blazing in the nearby pit to keep most of the bugs away. We grilled veggie burgers and Lizzy fried vegetables over that same fire, and then we ended the evening by toasting with champagne in Mason jars. What a delightful welcome back to the east coast! New Hampshire may not exactly be home, but it's close.

My bedroom is lovely as well. I have three big windows, two of which are in the corner where I've set up the desk on which sits my loaner typewriter. In the morning and most afternoons, sun filters in gloriously. At night, there are so many stars in the sky – they give new meaning to the term 'picture window'.

The hour grows late and I'm not as much of a night owl out here as I was not so long ago. I miss you all to bits and will write more soon...

Love n' snuggles,

Jett