Bon Voyage

Even though they were out of my house, Kelz and Sasd wouldn't officially be out of my life for a few more days. They were staying with Kelz' uncle while they were waiting to get a flight from San Diego to Iowa. For some reason, I had to show up with them at the travel agent's office while they got their plane tickets taken care of. I remember her uncle didn't really say anything to me, but he was the one in control of when the flight was going to take place.

During the time that she was staying with her uncle, Kelz called and left a bunch of messages on my voice mail. (I had a separate voice mail set up for my music business that was not connected to my home number.) She sounded like she had been drinking. Most of the messages centered on how sorry she was for the way she treated me. She expressed gratitude for me helping her get off heroin and being able to keep her baby. She also stated that I didn't need to pay her back the money I owed her. When she said that, I took measures to record the messages onto a cassette. If she ever brought that issue up again, I could prove that she absolved me of the debt.

At some point, she called and left a message for Thoz on her answering machine: "You can just go ahead and have him!" Thoz was happy knowing she'd probably never hear from her again.

(And we also had one more encounter that involved the police before she left. However, that will be the subject of a separate post.)

The day came that she was to leave San Diego. She asked me to see her and Sasd off at the airport. When I got there, Kelz and Sasd were already at the gate with Mr. & Mrs. B. When Mrs. B saw me, she said, "Don't you feel good about stealing that money from Kelz?" It wasn't worth the effort to respond (even though Kelz had absolved me), so I just let that sit there.

I said my goodbyes to Kelz and Sasd and watched them go into the gate. That would be the last time I saw them.

(I should point out that this all took place 20 years ago this month. Funny how that timed out.)

For years afterward, I thought about the turning point from that night I called the cops. I've always wondered what would have happened if I had done as she requested and stayed at the cottage with her. Would she have really turned her act around? Would she really stop accusing me of cheating on her? Would she have really tried to be a better person and be more of a role model for her child? Would I have decided that it would have been a good idea for us to have our own child together? Could things have ever been that good?

I always come to the same conclusion I had the night she asked: No.