What's The Verdict?
After work on Saturday, April 30th, 2022, Arden drove to August’s apartment. When she drove up she saw an older woman wearing a yellow sun hat and yellow pants sitting in the garden watering plants. August came out to meet her and after they hugged the two walked inside. As they passed, the older woman yelled, “Hi Arden!”
Back in February, I saw August and Kid waiting in the circle when she had come to town. We hung out as much as we could, but August, Ben, and I all needed to get to bed since we all had a big day coming up. Despite the fact that we didn't really do anything, August inspired me to once again make a surprise trip up to Colorado. I didn't want to go anywhere for the upcoming spring break because when I went to Colorado over spring break 2020 the world ended so there was just a little too much PTSD. However, I had only used one PTO day for my cousin Paige's wedding, so I had a few to kill.
Kid had a project for her photography class due on Easter Monday 2022, so on Holy Saturday she and I had a photoshoot. When we got back to her house to upload the photos to her computer Kid was texting someone very excitedly. I asked her what was going on and she replied, “Arden is moving to Cincinnati!” I immediately called Arden and she said that she was still “trying to get her ducks in a row,” but so her roommate Taylor could plan, she needed to know in two weeks. Coincidentally two weeks was when August and I had planned for me to go up to Colorado and surprise Arden and Ben.
I flew in on Thursday, April 28th, 2022. That night I met August’s roommate, Gill, and we surprised Ben, though it was not as epic as we had hoped. Now, August and Gill lived in Arvada, which is an hour away from Fort Collins, where Arden and Taylor lived. Arden was working for a group of hospitals that she would rotate between. She worked at one on that Saturday that was very close to Arvada.
On Saturday morning, August and I got coffee and did some work that we had to do. When we had finished, we rushed to the thrift store and bought a yellow sun hat, and yellow maternity pants. When we got back to the apartment I threw on one of August’s shirts, the sun hat, and the pants, and eagerly waited in the garden for Arden to arrive.
“Hi Arden!” I yelled as they passed. The look on Arden’s face when she realized that I was the older woman was priceless… It looked like she was malfunctioning. We spent the night, hanging out, talking to Gill, and then we all watched a movie. When we were getting ready for bed I asked Arden, “So…what's the verdict? Are you moving to Cincinnati?”
In typical Arden fashion, she replied, “Well… It's still a little unclear, but that's the hope!”
On Friday, November 4, 2022, I drove to Cincinnati to celebrate Arden finally moving back to Ohio! As I pulled into town it was hard not to laugh at myself. As you may remember, Arden moved to Colorado at the very beginning of this series, and I spent the entirety of Season 1 having an existential crisis because she and my other “sisters” were moving away. While that whole situation was important because it forced me to grow, I think it’s hilarious that I spent so much time stressing out about it when now 3 of the 4 now live back in Ohio! The moral of the story here is don’t stress out because, in the end, everything works out the way it is supposed to!
Have a Greattastic day and be safe!
J. Mitchie Ulibarri
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