Chapter three

Ah, Nebraska.

Large open fields and small festering towns. Driving through another city, I stopped at a red light. A father and his son walked hand and hand crossed the crosswalk. My lips upturned in a smile when Wolly popped into my mind. Nebraska was very bright, but it seemed to go by way too quickly. Suddenly I was in Iowa! This state had me flabbergasted. One moment I was driving through vintage-looking towns and next I was passing skyscrapers. My phone rang and it didn't surprise me when Eliza's name was on the dash.

"Eliza! I'm in Iowa!" I yelled before she got the chance to say anything. Honestly, I was bouncing in excitement. It was eight at night but I didn't want to stop driving.

"You're about five to six hours away!" She squealed and I joined in with her. I stopped at a stop sign and waited patiently for the other car to drive forward.

"I'm so ready to finally meet you!" I chuckled and continued to drive.

"Me too, I'm not stopping tonight so I should be there sometime this morning."

"Sounds great, I can't sleep anyway." She laughed. After a long conversation, the call finally ended. I scrolled through my music playlist while at a red light. I wanted to listen to something that will wake me up. A light bulb flipped on in my head. I clicked the Lion King soundtrack and the opening song blared through my speakers. I began to scream to the lyrics and drove down a dark narrow road.

"The circle of life!" I could barely hear myself from how loud I had it. The soundtrack continued and I didn't stop to breathe.

"I'm gonna be mighty king, so enemies beware!" I began to dance, swaying my body to Simba's voice. I had completely forgotten about time as I sang along with my favorite movie.

"Hakuna, Matata, what a wonderful phrase." I was laughing loudly and just enjoying myself. Maybe a little too much. Because I missed the Wisconsin state line. Lush green forests, high mountains, and tall glowing buildings. I was here! All the conversations and dreams were finally a reality! I type in Eliza's address and continue to drive until I was almost to the top of the state. I turn down a long dusty road, the pavement long behind me. A rusty silver fence was at the end of the road, on the white mailbox was 'Mabel.' Eliza's last name. The gate was opened for me, so I drove down the choppy driveway. Barking dogs suddenly surrounded my car, I counted at least six. My headlights made the red barn behind the two-story white house glow. The house was set on acres. More than a football field it seemed.

The white door -along with the screen door- swung open. Eliza's 5'8 figure came bouncing down the porch stairs and raced toward my car. I stopped a good chunk from the house, left the car running, and jumped out. I tackled her to the ground, rolling with her and crying into her thick red curls. I pulled back to look at her, only to start crying again. Her green ores were filled with tears too. Her face was covered in freckles, she had a sharp chin and beautiful eyebrows. Low key jealous. The dogs surrounded us, barking and licking us. Eliza squeezed me tightly, and I returned the favor.

"I can't believe you're finally here!" Her soprano voice said into my shoulder.

"You girls! Get off the ground and come on inside!" A raspy older man's voice yells from the porch. I stand, pulling Eliza with me. She blushed and looked toward the old man. 

"Sorry about him." I waved her off.

"No worries!" She smiled and directed me to where I should park my car. She did her best to pull the dogs out from in front of my car. I shut the engine down and grabbed my bag. Eliza was already in my trunk, pulling out the two suitcases I brought.

"You pack light." She commented.

"I don't have much." I retorted. She raised her eyebrows in agreement. She hauled my suitcases up the stairs, pushing dogs out of her way, but all they wanted to do was investigate the new items and person. I've never been sniffed in the crotch by this many dogs at once. One large -and very heavy- chocolate lab heaved his way onto me, placing both paws on my shoulders. 

"Dazzler! Get down!" Eliza scolded while grabbing his black collar.

"I'm sorry, he's a little friendly." Once again I waved her off. We made our way into the house and settled in the small living room where her grandfather was seated in a brown antique armchair. He seemed to be a friendly man, his face was wrinkled with a smile. He had gray hair and green eyes. His skin was tan, baked by the sun. He wobbled out of his recliner and walked toward me. He was a couple of inches taller than me. He extended a hand and I shook it firmly.

"You must be Danielle, I've heard lots." I shot Eliza a glare then smiled at her grandfather.

"Dan is fine," He smiled in return. 

"My daughter is in the kitchen, Eliza, be a dear and go introduce her to your mother then show her to her room." Eliza eagerly nodded and grabbed my hand. 

"Welcome to the Mabel's, Dan!" Her grandfather called as I was drugged to the kitchen. Standing in front of a counter was a tall and slender woman. She had red-orange hair that kissed her shoulder blades in noticeable yet subtle waves. She spun around and I was smacked with shock at how much alike she and Eliza looked. She had the dimples and freckles, the only difference was that she had hazel eyes instead. 

"Danny! Oh, how nice it is to meet you!" She pulled me into a hug and I accepted it.

"It's nice to meet you too," I said in the hug. She pulled me back and tucked my hair behind my ears to examine my face. 

"You're just as beautiful as Eliza said!" Eliza chuckled.

"How was the trip?" She quirked while turning back to her sandwich. 

"Long, but I got here an hour earlier than I expected." While saying that, I checked my watch.

"What time is it dear?" She asked.

"10 till midnight," I answer and she nodded.

"We're usually not up this late, but we were all just so excited to meet you none of us could sleep!" I laugh at that. She spun around with the sandwich in her hands on a paper plate.

"Here, you must be hungry after all that driving." I thanked her and sank my teeth in the sandwich while Eliza showed me around the house.

"We've got two bathrooms, that's one." She pointed toward a brown door.

"But grandpa likes to use that one so I'd steer clear of it." She said while jokingly plugging her nose. We laughed together. We climbed the stairs and she pointed toward the other bathroom, grandpa's room, her mom's room, then hers.

"This is my woman cave." The room wasn't very big but it was homey. She had a bunk bed with horse-covered bedding. She had a small desk and swivel chair, a dresser, closet, and a huge window that I couldn't see out of due to the night. The carpet was a sandy color and her walls were a warm brown. The room was covered in Polaroids. Some of her, friends or family, her horse, dogs, or just of pretty views. 

"This is cute!" I compliment, she rolls her eyes at me.

"Top bunk is mine." She throws my suitcases onto the bottom bunk.

"It gets cold here so if you wanna borrow anything the closet is right there." She said while jabbing a finger at the full closet. I still couldn't believe I was finally here, a dream that I never thought would come true. But Eliza is standing right in front of me and I started to tear up. She turned at the sound of my sniffle.

"Oh, Danny!" She embraced me into a hug, I enjoyed the warm hug but I would enjoy it a lot more if there wasn't so much hair in my face. I chuckled and pulled away from her.

"We made it," I whisper as she slowly wipes a tear from my eye. 

"We did." We held each other for another minute or two, then she playfully shoved me.

"Ugh! Stop making me cry,you butt!" She slapped my shoulder and I filled the room with cheerful laughter. 

We stayed up for maybe another hour, but the early 2 am morning got the best of us. Every word we spoke or during every card game we played, one of us would yawn and it would be contagious to the other. It became a continuous circle of us roaring at each other. Finally, we gave in.

"We gotta get up early, farm work." She let out a yawn and climbed up onto the top bunk. I pulled my suitcases off my bed and shut the lights off. Basically crawling into bed, the exhaustion set in. I laid toward the ceiling, allowing my lids to slide shut. As I was drifting to sleep, a peace rolled over me. I'd finally checked off my biggest dream, number one on the bucket list.