In the haze of that summer, we found an apartment, sold my car, and I prepared to leave behind everything that I knew. I must have packed on the days that I got out of bed at all. It was a dark time that is still tender for me all these years later.
My brother and his girlfriend offered to drive me halfway across the country with all of my worldly belongings. To the trailer, we strapped a manual transmission convertible that I never learned to drive, and a refrigerator box full of clothes. In the back of the pickup truck pulling this trailer, we placed my mattresses. Not simply for transporting, but as a place to sleep as we sped down the interstate driving straight through the night.
When we pulled into Los Angeles county, my hands were shaking so badly I couldn’t concentrate on giving my brother directions to the new apartment. As we passed under the large green highway sign pointing towards Hollywood, near panic overwhelmed me even as I stayed silent. This was irreversible.
When our respective families pulled away, it was just me and Dr. Megan staring at each other in a mostly empty living room. We had no jobs, no friends, and no plans. I call her Dr. Megan because she was taking a deferred enrollment in medical school and using the year after receiving her undergraduate degree to “find herself” before she became buried in books. I will give you her happy ending now: She is a beautiful and successful radiologist in Atlanta, Georgia.
The apartment with Dr. Megan was a beautiful old 8-unit building with high ceilings and crown molding on Hollywood Boulevard. It was the most beautiful apartment I would ever have, with lots of morning light and a landscaped walkway. We loved living on a palm lined street just blocks away from the walk of stars.
Dr. Megan was the perfect person to make this journey with me. We didn’t know much about one another, so it was still a clean slate for soul reinvention, but we knew enough to trust the other. For many days during that first year in Los Angeles, Dr. Megan was the only thing stable. I will never forget that about her.
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All this week at Hollywood Housewife I'm toasting my decision to move to Los Angeles nine years ago. Later today, the country changes and I get my first back. Also, a jewelry giveaway!
