Cross Country

Addie had been roaming around the U.S for the last six months. The same amount of time she had her job as a Proofreader. A remote job that left her able to have a job while roaming around. She’d left the small town she’d grown up in for a better life. A confrontational argument with her relatives and eventually her dad changed everything. Her dad, along with her relatives, were shamed by others after she left. It wasn’t something they were comfortable experiencing. People saw them differently after she truthfully answered questions. Nearly everyone that knew her dad and relatives sided with her. The few that sided with them were as ignorant and bigoted as they were. Their attempts to reconcile fell on Deaf ears. One more shaming conversation later left them feeling remorse they had to live with. 

She’d been saving everything she could prior to her departure. Her mundane job as a Dishwasher was barely above minimum wage. She hadn’t been able to save much, if anything, most of the time. She’d become the Restaurants Day Dishwasher after an increase in business led them to need someone during the day. It also meant more hours. The result being she was finally able to save some money. She’d saved enough to leave by the time she’d left. She’d gotten the Proofreading job two weeks prior to leaving. She’d packed everything by then. The bare essentials being the only things she’d left out. She’d gotten rid of everything else. She’d left an hour after the fight with Eli. She went to a hotel closer to the Train Station that night. The train left for Miami Beach the next morning. 

She’d spent two months in Miami Beach. She’d wandered around the majority of the time. She’d forged a system that worked for her. A few hours of work that took up her mornings that left her the rest of the day to roam around. She’d fallen in love with Miami Beach years prior during her brief time living in South Florida. It was a tumultuous time in her life. She’d found herself in that time. She’d reflect on the Tim after she moved back and had been openly Lesbian. She didn’t care what others thought. She shared her story with those that tried shaming her. That her mother, Ellen, would’ve loved her for who she is. Everyone knew her mother to be a devout Southern Baptist. That she practiced what she preached while so many others didn’t. The response was usually silence. There were people she’d grown up around who’d become more open and accepting of the LGBTQ+ community because of her. Wanderlust and Drapetomania had seeped into her. She knew it was her time to leave Miami Beach to wander the rest of the country. 

She’d gotten lost, often, while she was in each city. She didn’t mind. She’d seen beautiful things. She’d wandered off the beaten path. She saw places others may not see. Places only locals may know about. She traveled as if she was local to the area after a while. She explored as if she was going to move to wherever she was. Despite the fact she never stayed anywhere long. She’d stay long enough to be a tourist while also thinking about where she’d go if she were a local. Her perspective was far different than most. California had been the longest time she’d stayed anywhere. For obvious reasons. She’d seen herself moving somewhere in California. Her overnight stay in Inverness, California fascinated her. It was a place she saw herself living in. Permanently. 

She’d found a rental in Inverness, California after ending her time in Northern California. Her soul recognized the peace she’d found there. She’d come to terms with her past by that point. She wanted a simple life. This area gave her that. She’d thought about everywhere else she’d considered. Inverness was her balance. She had cities nearby while being in a quieter area. The cottage she was renting went up for sale unexpectedly. She bought it. It was the perfect house for her. It’d been her dream house. Her life, as simple as it’d become, was the one she’d longed for. A life she finally had.