Lou stood in the courtyard of the student union building at UTA contemplating life…well, his life anyway. It was a cold, windy and overcast day, which matched his mood perfectly. He had come to this courtyard hoping the location would help him figure out exactly what happened to cause his life to become so unraveled. This spot had been one of his favorite haunts when he had been a happy, carefree college freshman here. He loved the life he had created for himself after finding out his family was moving out of state during his first semester in college. It had been a real challenge convincing his parents he was old enough to take care of himself if they would just let him stay in Texas to go to school. Finally, his dad agreed with the stipulation of keeping his GPA where it was supposed to be and finding a part time job to pay for his living expenses.
That first year of college was wonderful. Lou had no trouble keeping his GPA on target even though he had to snag a job at the local Kroger grocery store to pay for his tiny apartment and other expenses. The freedom he felt and the pride he had in his ability to handle that freedom made every day a good day. Good friends, good school, good job, dismal yet acceptable apartment, made life all Lou had imagined.
In May, after his freshman year was wrapped up, Lou spent a couple of weeks visiting his family in Detroit, He came back to Texas secure in his knowledge his tuition was covered for his fall semester at UTA. He had worried his parents would say, “That’s enough! You’re moving back in with us!” His grades were so good though his parents didn’t want to mess with perfection! He planned to work as many hours as possible during the summer to build up his savings to cover his living expenses. It wasn’t a problem because he loved his job and had made many new friends, both at Kroger and at UTA.
In early August Lou was invited to a “back to school” party hosted by an upperclassman. Lou was surprised at the invitation since he didn’t really know this guy that well. In fact, he didn’t know him well enough to know about the little sister who had discovered Lou while stopping off for milk at the Kroger one afternoon. It was her insistence that Lou get that invitation and get it he did. Little sister, an eighteen year old beauty named Dana, was the typical baby girl of the wealthy family. She was spoiled by adoring parents and older brother and typically got what she wanted.
I gave a pretty good background on Dana in the last story so I won’t go into it again. I’ll just say Dana wanted Lou completely to herself. She didn’t like sharing him with his job, his school work, or even his friends. Lou didn’t seem to mind this arrangement but his grades started to drop pretty quickly into his second year at the university. Things would have to change or Lou was going to be in trouble with the dean, and even more importantly, in trouble with his parents.
I guess I’ve spent too much time reviewing and not enough time telling about the important stuff. As I mentioned in the first story, Lou was a twenty-five year old recently divorced man with no job, no home, and no plan. He was feeling completely lost as he sat on a cold bench in the UTA courtyard. He thought about the mistakes he had made over the past six or seven years. He had lost his wife because she no longer found him “fun and mysterious”. He had lost his relationship with his family because they didn’t approve of the way Dana treated him and he wouldn’t listen to them. He lost his home because well, it wasn’t his. It belonged to Dana’s parents and had been a gift to her when she and Lou married. He lost his job because he had foolishly thought he was accepted by his father-in-law as the brilliant young entrepreneur he tried to be. As soon as Dana got tired of Lou, Lou was let go from the car dealership her father owned. It seems Lou wasn’t as good a car salesman as he had been led to believe. When he lost his job he also lost his transportation. He lost everything and the only positive thing he could think was that he no longer had to deal with the foolishness he felt for dropping out of college to make a fortune selling cars for an unappreciative father-in-law. Had it not been for the $10,000 check the family gave him “to go away” he would be completely destitute.
Well, enough pity party. Some decisions had to be made, and made fast. He called the Uber service he had used to drop him off at the campus and requested a ride back to the dingy “weekly stay” hotel he had rented. He had to decide on an immediate start…somewhere! His “severance package” wasn’t going to last long if he didn’t get out of that hotel and find a job. Trouble was, he didn’t want to come back to his old life. He no longer had any of his old co-workers still hanging around at Kroger’s. They had all moved on with their lives. Although Kroger did offer him work, he would be starting at the bottom again with all new people. He couldn’t talk himself into it. He also didn’t want to go back to school for two reasons. First of all, he couldn’t afford it and secondly, everyone walking past him all day were kids. They were all carefree, laughing and joking kids. He felt like an old man around them. He needed to get away. He promised himself one more really good meal tonight, a good rest at the hotel, and then ACTION!
The next morning, with a vow to not spend another dollar frivolously, Lou packed up his meager collection of clothes, personal items, and one or two memory makers he had taken from his former home, and walked outside. He allowed himself one more Uber trip and chose downtown Fort Worth. He truly did not plan to become homeless but he was sure getting close to it. On the ride west to Fort Worth, Lou made the decision to be dropped off at the Greyhound bus station. He would choose a town that sounded good, buy a ticket, and wait for the bus to load up. Looking over at the bus schedule for something fairly cheap, he chose Graham, Texas. Only $49.00 one way. He walked up to the counter to find the next bus wasn’t leaving until 1 a.m. the next day. He decided to find something else and settled on a town called Alpine. A bus was heading out at 3 in the afternoon. Alpine sounded nice. It sounded almost refreshing. He bought the ticket without even asking which direction he was going. It didn’t really matter. It was a long bus ride away from Arlington and bad memories. He would have some time to really work out a plan as he rode the big bus to his new “home”.
Note. There will be another installment of Lou’s story beginning as he stepped onto that bus to Alpine, Texas. How will he react when he discovers he has chosen a town not nearly the resort mountain town he envisioned but a little town basically devoid of trees and surrounded by desert! This story and those that follow are dedicated to my sister Julie Myers. She is the only one to express disappointment with my decision to stop the Bert and Lou stories. Thank you Julie! I love you too!!
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