Part Two of the Ryan Saga

Part II...

So, Ryan and I went through this crazy up and down relationship for probably about 2 years. I'd get calls from him in the middle of the night when I was home sleeping. I remember one night during the week I think it was a Tuesday, and I got this call at 2 in the morning from him. I guess he was at a party or something and the cops came and everyone fled. He was on foot and he got separated from his other friend and was hiding in the bushes for a while until he finally found a phone booth and called me. Of course I got up out of bed, picked his ass up, took him home and then went back to bed for about an hour or so and then the alarm went off and I had to go to work. This kind of stuff was commonplace. Happened all the time and I loved it. He was still as exciting as ever. Never a dull moment.

So, eventually Ryan's mom decided to move back to Ohio and he didn't have a job or a place to live in Maryland, so he moved to Ohio with her. We were probably around 20 years old when he moved away.

I was so sad. Looking back though, it was probably the best thing that could have happened to me. We kept in touch for a while. Of course our phone bills were sky high and I'd make the 7 hour drive on the Pennsylvania Turnpike and through Ohio to Dayton to see him whenever I had a long weekend or when I could take vacation from work. But as all long distance relationships usually fade - ours did too.

Of course every couple of months I'd get a drunken call in the middle of the night from him professing his love to me, but that was about it.

Somehow I managed to keep my job through all of this craziness and when I was around 27 years old I finally bought my own house in Crofton, Maryland. It was a townhouse sort of - they are actually called piggyback houses and it was brand new. I got to pick out all of the options for the counters and the carpet and the flooring etc. Good times.

Unfortunately, my drug use had escalated from just using LSD and drinking here and there to drinking a lot thoughout the week, taking lots of exstacy pills and cocaine on the weekends and eventually during the week too. Of course living that lifestyle can only happen for so long and - well - let's just say the party finally ended when I was about 30. I sold my house and decided it was time to make a brand new start.

As luck would have it - Ryan had gotten my new number and we were still talking here and there. I started driving to Ohio again to see him and he seemed like he had really changed. He had a son, he had a job, he bought a house, he owned his own car, he had finally cleaned up.

We got along famously now that we had both grown up a little. Gone were the petty resentments, he actually had money to take me out to dinner and best of all, he wasn't hitting me anymore. Maybe I could give this another shot? I mean, things weren't working in Maryland for me anymore - I was faced with a decision. Either move into my parent's basement and keep on partying with the Baltimore Crew, or make a change and move to Ohio to be with Ryan and start fresh.

So, I packed up my car, most of the stuff from my house went into storage and I moved to Ohio when I was 30 years old - a whole decade after I met Ryan.

To be continued...