Chapter 7 "The Countdown"

May flew through Florida’s warm sunset, thankful to land in Tampa’s inviting atmosphere. She lived slightly north of Tampa since she graduated from high school seven years earlier. She found the weather in April to be most welcoming for its’ warm, not yet humid, personality. However, May’s favorite times where those when the sun took the day off. She enjoyed sitting by opened windows, sipping hot coffee, while the cool citrus fragrance wafted through the screens to embrace the ink of whatever she was reading at the time.

After two months away, she was excited to see two of her sweet friends pull alongside the concrete curve in the dark airport loading terminal. May spent the next two weeks being pampered and loved on by these friends and a handful of others. She stayed with The Zellers, whom she commonly referred to as Mama and Papa Z and considered to be her Florida parents. She had been deeply and richly blessed by her freshman year of college when she was introduced to Mama and Papa Z who lovingly shared what the Great Book said about the Father’s sacrifice of His Son. She found meaning and purpose through the blood of the perfect man and her life changed forever during that time in her eighteenth year.

The last night consisted of laughter that ended with hugs goodbye after a sushi dinner and ice cream dessert. May despised goodbyes, she simply rather avoid saying goodbye to anyone and would rather pretend nothing would change in the lives of the one’s she loved over the next two years. She was almost as awkward with goodbyes as she was with first impressions. May knew she would miss these friends more then she could express so all she could do was hug them and say thank you to them for the way they had loved her through the years. Together for the last time, they gathered in a circle and whispered her up to the Father. She would rather no other goodbye then a circle of finger locked friends whispering protection, guidance, clarity, and thankfulness to the King.

Finally, the 19th of April had arrived. During the previous days, the weather in Tampa was indecisive. May had longed to spend a few days at the beach, her favorite place, before she left for two years but had few opportunities as the sun and clouds played hide and seek with the rain and wind. She found herself appreciating the smallest parts of creation before she left. As she drove through sweet smelling orange fields surrounded by lush green tress, May contemplated the other smells she would miss; fresh cut grass, tulips, the beach, and clean, crisp air. She found herself drifting too quickly into the future while she was appreciating the present. The airport came to view sooner then she was ready to approach it.

Mama Z helped May pull the four gigantic bags out of her Jeep and load them onto the wagon. She held May close and lifted her up to The Father. May tearfully embraced her and thanked The Father for the way he provided such an amazing woman in her life throughout the last seven years. She came to the ticket counter and found her bags were ten pounds over weight. A half hour later and ten pounds of Gatorade lighter, May met up with her friend, Reb, and they spent the two hour wait reminiscing about old times. The time passed too quickly, as it always does in final goodbyes. May left Florida in the arms of one last hug from a sweet friend and landed in the arms of heart felt embraces from McCaine and Red in Virginia.