Got up early to make sure everything was in place
for the big move – mostly everything had been done in order in the last couple
days (so nice to be able to have gone at a reasonable pace and not be left feeling
frantic at this point). All that was left was just those last minute things
that need to be tucked away on the very day of departure. I was still kind of
incredulous that this all was happening – that Molly had offered, and was
actually driving me to Weymouth. And then that Loraine REALLY did want – and
was expecting – me to come and be with her and hers, there at the hotel. It
just seemed to be too good to be true – that somehow I had misunderstood
someone, something along the line, that it was all just waiting to disintegrate
like a pile of dust through my fingertips.
I had emailed Molly a couple days before, the morning
after I returned from Amsterdam actually, saying something like, ‘Are we on? Is
everything good?’ explaining my silly misgivings. (I was SO incredulous!) Thankfully
her reassuring answer came back, ‘Oh, you are too funny!! I
totally get that feeling sometimes :)’ I had also called to the hotel to let them
know there that I would be arriving on Monday. Loraine’s right hand girl in the
hotel, Stacey, (Loraine was not in) said ‘great! I’ll let Lorraine know’ –
always recognizing just who I am each time I’ve spoken with her. (Honestly, I
always think I must be imagining things, that the answer I get will be
something like, ‘Sorry, but what? You’re who?’ But it never is.
[By way of explanation: Molly and I are nursery colleagues. We had really
hit it off from the first moment we met there with the babies – she is twenty
seven, from Alaska. She has lived quite an interesting, world-rambling existence,
as she is the caboose of eight, plus having worked for Delta airlines for a
number of years. That phase of her life began within weeks of her high school
graduation, where practically overnight she went from dwelling in a sleepy Alaska
town to the craziness that makes up the metropolis of Philadelphia. She is just
one of those undaunted souls who thinks nothing of hopping here or there at the
drop of a hat, making her the perfect candidate in my quest for someone to
drive me today. I had known that she conducted her work from her computer so
thought, before making my proposal, that there was a good chance she would be
free, time-wise – definitely not the usual scenario for most persons who have
the ordinary 9-5 grind; plus she has no children. Molly came to England to be
with her boyfriend, Elvis, a good-looking, gentle guy from Cameroon, who has
been here in the UK for eleven years now – originally as a student, then has
stayed on to work. As you may guess, they met over the internet, through e-Harmony
actually – it was a match! He has just finished up some IT training, and is in
the process of looking for permanent work, so was also free. Elvis sat in the
front and acted as the navigator (though I willingly admit I did participate in
a wee bit of back-seat driving myself – in a good way, mind you!), while I was
the out and out passenger . . . and happy to be in that position! Between the
printed-off directions Leah had made for me, and Elvis’ iPhone, we were quite a
pair - all set!]
(How we ended up with the car we did is worth
sharing. When this ‘driving ourselves’ scheme first began to develop in my head
– soon after Bill texted to say he could not drive me after all – I thought but
how will I EVER know what vehicle rental company to trust – who’s reliable and
won’t try to scam me – and besides how do I know what price is the best, etc.?
THEN by doing a Google search I happened upon Enterprise Rent-A-Car – my old,
tried and true buddy from the States. Oh, man, was that revelation a relief to
my mind. Even when I called them – I was automatically connected to the UK
scheduling office – their friendly, helpful, confident voice over the phone was
exactly what I’ve come to expect from Enterprise – even if he DID have a
British accent. The clincher was when we were talking about the different sized
vehicles, trying to decide which would be large enough for my needs. I had
determined from looking online that the £97 variety seemed like it would work
okay, but asked what about the next size up, just for comparison. He said, ‘oh,
yes, that’s the one you’ll want – definitely big enough . . . and it comes in
Automatic like you’ve requested . . . And because we keep many of that
particular size on hand, the price is actually less - £51 . . . AND because
it’s a diesel, you’ll get much better gas (petrol, I mean) mileage besides.’
Nice – I thought that was a pretty great deal! And not only that, but it was
within a short walking distance of Molly AND it was the very place Leah and
Martin had rented vehicles on a number of occasions, making them all the more trustworthy!)
Poor, old Molly, she practically had to sign her
life away to get the rental car – even MORE than I’ve had to do back home. Not
only did she have to produce her passport, but also proof of where she lived, plus
confirmation of a return ticket! (We joked – what did they think we were going
to do - abscond with the car and make off across the continent?! Naturally,
they don’t tell you these contingencies upfront over the phone when you’re
making your reservation, so Molly had to dash back home – on foot, of course –
to gather them. And thankfully, she had them all – which I would NOT have had.
Bless you, Molly! (Only the major credit card of the person driving may be used
for payment.) Thus, all this rigmarole, plus having to go with one of the
Enterprise guys to top up the tires with air, resulted in Molly and Elvis
getting to me considerably later than had been our original plan. What had
started out at 8:30 was now 10, and then, of course, there was still the issue
of figuring out how to fit all my stuff into the car, and STILL have room for
me and Molly – as well as Elvis, hopefully! (Sad to admit, he our one dispensable thing when it came to space – meaning we had to fit everything in, including me and Molly, before
there was a confirmed berth for Elvis.)
[Wow! At one point while we were in my room taking
stuff down to put in the car, Myfanwy was upstairs there with us, and suddenly without
warning threw her arms around me, from behind, to hug me (this was So unlike
the fairly reserved landlady I had come to know) and said, ‘this room looks
better than it did before you moved in!’ Fantatic – I never even vacuumed it once
in all the time I was there. Not to sound like I’m boasting, or like I got away
with anything or other, it’s just that I was careful and it never did really need
it. Honestly, I’m not exactly sure what she was referring to – it was empty
when I came and it was empty once again, but I’m VERY glad she thought so! Myfanwy
did return every bit of my deposit – sans questions or quibbling.]
Our trip (yes, in the end, with a little creative
configuring, we were able to get in all my stuff, AND still have room for our
navigator, Elvis – just as the Enterprise man had reassured me) was nicely
uneventful. For having hardly ever driven at all in England, Molly did an
amazing job. (You know – wrong side of the road, wrong side of the car, and
then those crazy octopodal roundabouts sort of thing - ya gotta appreciate it!)
She’s one of those indomitable persons who, because they believe they can, just
can! Works for me! We made just one stop – at one of those Road Chef rest stop places
that they have here (kind of like the inside of an airport with shops and
places to get food) – for Elvis and Molly to get a bite to eat. Made quite good
time – could have been a little quicker, but in some ways we were re-inventing
the wheel as none of us had basically travelled this way before. But between
Elvis’ iPhone and my print outs, and lastly my memory as we finally came to
familiar territory near the waterfront in Weymouth, we sailed right along.
Rang the exterior bell at the Richmoor Hotel at
4:15 that afternoon, my heart pounding in anticipation – me with thoughts like ‘what
the heck am I doing?!’ All indications were ‘yes, come,’ but WHY would Loraine
WANT me to come and be a part of her hotel operation? After all, she’d only known
me for a few short days. Exactly where would I live, what would I eat, how
would I eat and prepare food? How would I fit in with her family and the other
staff members working there? There were a lot of unanswered questions. (The
deal, as we’d left it, was that I would help out in any way I could, for no
pay, and in return she would give me a place to stay – but we had not discussed
any specifics beyond those sketchy details.)
When we had first arrived, Loraine was not there,
but was out with Andy, her significant other/boyfriend – more about who, where,
what and why to come. Stacey answered the buzzer, and said, ‘oh, hi, Debbie,
Loraine’s not here, she’ll be back really soon. You can just unload your stuff
here into the bar/dance area. I think she’s putting you in one of the rooms in
the hotel for now.’ Loraine and I had talked about me staying in one of the
bedrooms in the family complex – a separate compartment you get to through a door
in the main kitchen of the hotel. Where we were parked in the back was really
close to this complex, and taking into account the amount of my stuff, I didn’t
want to lug it all in, cluttering up the room Stacey had indicated, and then
have to move it all back, when at that moment we were right there. Because it
all sounded a bit tentative, and me thinking that Stacey obviously didn’t know
what she was talking about, at my suggestion she called Loraine on her mobile
(that’s how they say it here), while I said I’d just wait in the car with Elvis
and Molly till she got back – assuming it wouldn’t be long. This tentativeness was
definitely beginning to contribute to my growing disquiet.
(Though I didn’t know it at the time, it turns out
that Loraine had ‘intended’ to get things squared away in the family’s area,
but then life had happened and her goal had never materialized. We all know how
THAT goes!) Soon, there came Loraine herself walking near our car, saying – of
course – ‘what’re you doing out here? Come on in inside. Just pull your car up
to the side there - the hotel is on a corner – and you can unload your stuff
through the front door. 'Brilliant,' I said calmly and confidently, all the while gulping inwardly, with trepidation. (I felt kind of embarrassed and sheepish about having
SO much stuff, but gosh, it IS every bit of the worldly possessions I have in
this country. Between clothes and shoes and coats and blankets and a mattress
topper and pillows (decorative and otherwise) and books and games and puzzles
and general all-around STUFF altogether – between what I brought and what I’ve
purchased since arriving – there’s a lot! To her credit, Loraine never said
anything.) She confirmed that I indeed would be staying in one of the rooms for
now – just as Stacey had intimated – maybe even for as long as a month, until
things got sorted.
We hauled all the stuff in – me feeling very
disjointed – still thinking, oh, my, goodness, what was I thinking? I DIDN’T
want to leave Leah and Martin, or the Harborne Ward – I was SO happy and
contented there. I really liked the singles that were around there. I had many
friends to do things with – though I rarely felt sorted enough to make the overture.
(Sad – I know!) At the same time, as much as I cared for Myfanwy, I was anxious to be finished with my
rental agreement at 94 Oakfield Road. Though there were many good things about it,
there were also many that I was very happy to leave behind.
Having walked up the small flight of stairs
leading to the entryway to the hotel, after we’d had a hug, Loraine leaned in to
me and said inconspicuously, that there was a problem. ‘Oh, NO,’ was my first thought!
‘What’s wrong – what’s changed?! Why hadn’t she said something before I pulled
up stakes and made the effort to come all the way down?!’ As you can imagine, her
off-handed words were quite an alarming revelation for me to hear at that
moment in time. What she did NOT say, however, is ‘please turn around, and go
back to where you came from!’
First we brought all my stuff in from the car,
then Molly moved our transportation back to where it had been sitting in the driveway
behind the hotel. Then we all sat around in that same room, where we chatted
(mostly the three of them), for what seemed like an hour or so – those guys
enjoying some nice hot chocolate that Loraine offered them. (Personally I was experiencing
a wee bit of distress and just wanted to get on with things – whatever that
might be! Distress because I knew SO little – and for me, knowing is BIG!)
Eventually with Elvis’ man-help, before they took off, we moved all my stuff up
to the 2nd floor, room 102 – where, to date, I continue being all
cozy!)
Finally Molly and Elvis left to make the drive
back home – me flinging ‘gynormous’ accolades of gratitude at their backs as
they went. If it hadn’t been for their kindness, I wouldn’t be in Weymouth – in
fact have no idea how I would have gotten myself here. Around 11:15pm had a
text from Molly, at my request, reporting that they had arrived back in
Birmingham – safe and sound. It had been a very pleasant day – the drive
through the countryside and I really enjoyed their company. And now I was here!
Loraine gave me keys to a couple rooms (there was
no one much staying at the hotel at the moment) – one in which to live, and the
other, next door, for a sort of staging area. Then she basically indicated
matter of factly, ‘hope you don’t mind kind of fending for yourself this
evening (she and Andy were in the middle of some important things); here’s
where we keep the food, help yourself, et cetera, et cetera. I had NO idea what
was what at that point – and felt it to the quick! It was all a great mystery –
why Loraine had said ‘yes, come,’ and how I was going to fit into the scheme of
things. I fixed myself something to eat, sorted a little, and then called it a day.
To be continued_
*
* * * *
Just think, never EVER having to:
▪ be cold again (in my room)
▪ measure the temperature and length of my shower
▪ avoid having food in my room
▪ stress over if I did or did not put on the
alarm, and if I did it correctly
▪ walk around on egg shells, hoping beyond hope,
that I am doing everything the way ‘it’s supposed to be done!’
▪ live in fear wondering when is, and what’s been the cause of, the next time I’ll be given ‘instruction’
▪ hang up my clothes on a line to dry
. .
. for now anyways.
[To date I am still not unpacked – the thought of getting everything out of its neat, compact compartments and then having to go to the trouble of gathering it all up again is just too unsavory. So back to living out of a suitcase, just as I did in Grimsby, as well as Leah’s for those couple weeks. But that’s alright – this too shall pass!]
Photos_
1- empty of all inhabitants
2- Molly and Elvis
3- the getaway car
4- inside Road Chef
5- Weymouth by the sea
