Unanswered Prayers

I got lucky enough for DMV to send my tags to my old address last month. I got really lucky enough that my ex didn’t just trash em when he found em, like he did the rest of my stuff.

I decided to make a day out of the 100 mile trip, and visit a few friends in the area too. The plant nursery I used to work at, being my first stop. I quit working there for minimum wage at the end of last year; around the time I accepted that I needed to be financially ready for first, last and security at any given time. Hopeful for our future, without being oblivious to mine.

I got an overwhelming sense of nostalgia pulling into the employee parking lot, gravel rearranging beneath my Chevy’s tires. I headed to the houseplants shed first. My favorite place in the entire nursery. Where my favorite photos of us were taken, where half of my plants came from, where my favorite/eldest/wisest friend normally hides out too.

“Blonde?!” Julie beamed as she walked towards me, arms stretched out, ready to envelope me into affection. “I missed you!” I laughed, as her long gray hair covered my face. “How are you?” She took a step back, and grabbed my left ring finger. “You don’t live in that house anymore, do you?”

She had about an hour before her lunch break, and we used the whole 60 minutes sharing stories about our most recent calendar year. “It’s like that song, have you heard it?” Julie asked me, as we each ran our hands through rows of houseplants, checking for yellowed leaves. “Unanswered prayers,” She nodded at me. “You didn’t get what you wanted- you got what was best for you.”