Phone rings and I pry open my eyes to a dim lit room shuffling though the bed to find my phone, before the caller hangs up. Finally, I answer and the sound of a mans voice of that I didnt recognize says, "Carl, this is Ken from Executive Air." A place that I fly through. Coughing to clear my throat to speak my first words of the day,
Carl - "Yeah, whats up?"
Ken - "Someone is looking for you."
Carl - "Who would be looking for me?"
Ken - "Apparently you dated a girl in high school, Ashley, whom at the time her parents, under the circumstances, didnt approve. Now, graduated she drove here to find you."
Carl - Thinking HOLY Shit!
Ken - "I think thats pretty neat she drove all the way here to find you. She left her cell phone number, home phone number, and a picture incase you forgot who she was."
Carl: "Wow! I havent talked to her in two years. Ill be over in a bit to pick it up."
Two years ago, I stood at the cash register of Hollister waiting on a young girl who just brought up two huge mounds of clothes. I started flirting with her, "Geez, Did you by out the store?" We chatted a little bit as I took the sensors off the clothes and her parents waited in the distance. Got her clothes all bagged up and said, "Have a good day, come back soon." Usually I dont really mean it, but I did that time. I felt like such an idiot for not asking if I could call her! I just let her walk away. Five minuets later I noticed the parents of the attractive young lady that had just left talking to my manager and the manager pointing at me. Im thinking shit I just left the sensors on some of her clothes. My manager yells over,
Manager - "Carl come over here, these people have a question."
Carl - "Hey, whats up?" The beautiful girl approaches.
Mother - "We were walking out of the store and our daughter kept saying she wish she would have asked for your number. Our daughter Ashley was wondering if she could call you."
Carl - Im stunned, "I dont know, you're not one of those stalker chicks are you? Then yeah you can call me."
We swapped numbers and the next day we hang out. It was the best two weeks of my life with another girl. Ashley had just gotten out of a bad relationship with some loser who threatened to rape her if she didnt have sex with him. So the parents, the father especially was on guard watching my every move. A few weeks in and Ashley was getting home late and etc. I soon was exiled from their house and told not to call Ashley. I didn't listen and shortly after she stopped answering her cell phone. The next two years I sent her Birthday and Christmas cards; making sure to put my return address on each card and still no response.
This is us two years ago,
I've later found out that only one of my letters ever made it to her house; I had the wrong address. Ashley had made multiple trips to Muskegon in the last six months to search for me. Visiting my old house with no luck because we move otten to calling all the VanderLaans in the phone book. She got her break when her mom suggested that she try the airport, they knew I was a pilot. The next day I got the phone call.
With Love,
Carl VanderLaan