Independence Day

The night of the 4th was absolutely wonderful.

I had to work a seven-hour shift at Taco Bell so Nathan got to spend the day with my parents and grandparents for the parade then he spent the afternoon with Jennifer and Johnny. I felt bad that he got to experience the nice spare tire feel that a person gets hanging out with Jennifer and Johnny. They dropped him off at Taco Bell right before I got off work. I took a shower to get rid of the clinging smell of Taco Bell.

I thought it would be a good idea to drag out the water guns. Sneak attack on Nathan when he came back out of the house. It worked until Nathan stole the gun from me and left me with the empty gun that squirts crooked. We had a good time, and cooled off a bit. Jennifer and Johnny blew up my mop bucket with water dynamite. And we were off to dinner.

I could have skipped dinner that night. It was totally odd feeling. We ate with Johnny's parents at Gannett Grill. Eating dinner with my H.S. English teacher isn't my idea of a great way to spend the small amount of time that I had to spend with Nathan. I felt totally out of place. Johnny’s mom said maybe three words to me the whole dinner and that was about it.

After dinner we went to Atlantic City to watch the firework display up there. It is about a 30-minute drive away from Lander. The fireworks were amazing, some of them were being lit right down in front of the restaurant, and then they had some people on the other side of the valley up on one of the hills lighting the big ones. The echoes were cool, I am surer all of the wild animals thought the hunters were coming out early and were freaking out. It was amazing, I was so glad that Nathan was there with me.

While I was off working Nathan told my mom that he had decided that he was going on his mission. I have known the whole time that he was going to go even if he hadn’t made up his mind. When my mom told me that last night after she got mad at us for sleeping in the same bed because Jennifer jumped all over the idea of Johnny spending the night before he leaves for the army. Anyways there was disappointment yesterday all because I didn’t sleep on the floor again. It was worth it though, to sleep in his arms all night was wonderful.

Back to him leaving on his mission, when we still in school Robby (Nathan’s roommate) was talking about how they go on their missions to find a wife. That is where most of them meet the person they are going to marry anyhow. My mom told me Nathan had made up his mind and it reminded me of that conversation and made me sad. What if he goes off and falls in love with someone else. Just thinking about him finding someone else breaks my heart.

Before we went to bed the morning of the 5th I asked him what I was going to do when he left and he asked me what he was going to do when I went to Montana. I don’t want either of us to have to leave. I wish we could be together always.