When Plans Get Cut Short

When Plans Get Cut Short

“Arden,” I said into the phone, “turn around!” She looked away from the baggage claim, and she saw me. We hugged and jumped up and down because we were so excited to see each other. We drove from the Denver airport to her apartment in Loveland, Colorado. We made dinner, had a little too much to drink, and then accidentally broke a few potted plants that she was trying to hang on her curtain rod. I haven't laughed so hard all summer. We then went up to the rooftop balcony and met her friend Alex, and his dog Kobi. 

We woke up on Sunday morning and Arden and I got in the car to go to Goat yoga. Goat yoga, for those of you who don’t know, is yoga except there are goats climbing all over you (couldn’t wait to experience this!!). We got there late, because of course, we were, so we decided to do it another day. We went back to the apartment and Alex texted Arden. He asked if we wanted to go on a little hike around 12. We had decided to go to mass at 5:30, so we had time.

We drove for about 15 minutes and we ended up in the foothills. We put on Kobi's leash and started the hike. To get to the trail we had to walk over a narrow bridge. On the right and left sides of the bridge, there were metal fences so people don't fall into the dam below. A good idea in theory, except that the bottoms of these fences were curled in, so walking on the bridge was very dangerous. My boot got caught under the fence and I tripped forward. I screamed, slightly panicked. Arden and Alex asked me what happened, and as I was explaining Arden, who was only wearing sandals, caught her foot under the fence as well. 

She kept walking as if nothing had happened, but by the time we finished crossing the bridge, blood was everywhere. Alex gave me the dog and ran as fast as he could back to the car to get napkins. While we were trying to stop the bleeding, an older couple came up to us and gave us rubbing alcohol and some Band-Aids, then they prayed over her.

Because it was my first full day, and because she really wanted to go, Arden told us that she would be fine, and we should continue on the walk. As the walk went on, we started to realize Arden was in pain because she started to shut down and she stopped talking to us, so we decided it was time to go home. 

We got back to her apartment and helped her change her bandage. She signed up online to go to the MinuteClinic and we got an appointment 15 minutes later. Alex was supposed to have dinner with his mom, and since I don’t drive he asked if Arden could drive on her own.

“Yeah I'll be fine,” she said, and we believed her until she said, “although I do feel like I'm going to pass out,” as she laid down on my air mattress. Alex took Kobi to his apartment upstairs and then he drove us. About 30 minutes, 7 stitches, and 1 tetanus shot later, Arden was good as new.

We went to Mass (though we were a little late), had dinner, Arden played a song on her violin, and then we started getting ready for bed. I told her goodnight and she said, “sorry today was a bust.”

“It wasn't a bust Arden!” I replied, “At least it wasn't boring. Sometimes your plans get cut short, you just got to go with the flow.”

“Hardy har har!” She said trying not to smile. All of a sudden we heard a crash, “What was that!” She exclaimed.

“I don't know, but with our luck, it's probably an armed robber….” We then both looked around the corner ready to fight for our lives….

To Be Continued...
J. Mitchie Ulibarri