Graduation Trip

I was never one to go along with that or any of the other stunts which went on. I was the "good girl." I never took money from my mom's purse or tried to swipe any alcohol from home. If I said I was going to an away game, that's where I went, not out to try and get into some place with a fake ID. I was never interested in trying any kind of drugs, but, honestly, neither were most of my friends.

When I started dating I was almost always home by the time I had said and if not I always called. Unlike some of my friends I never said I was staying over night with one of my girlfriends who would cover for me while I spent the night with my boyfriend.

I'm not saying I didn't want to do something like that, just that it wasn't my nature. I was the good girl. You know the saying: "Good girls go to heaven. Bad girls go everywhere!" I started seriously dating when I was a freshman and quickly found I had the same desires as the other girls. Before the year was over, making out had become one of my favorite activities. It was near the end of sophomore year before a boy got my bra off and played with my breasts but once I had experienced it I was ready to repeat the activities. A couple of times I tried oral sex with a guy and found that it didn't bother me even if it didn't "ring my chimes" as I have heard it put. I was fingered a couple of times which felt very nice, but I never had a guy who wanted to go down on me. A long time afterwards I have found what I missed.

I was still an actual virgin, although I came very close to changing that once or twice. My senior year one night after a football game and dance a guy and I stopped in a nice isolated park and soon had the car windows completely steamed up. It wasn't attempted rape, if that's what you are thinking. I wanted it as much as he did and I believe I was the one to actually escalate things. But somehow I couldn't get myself to let go completely. We ended that night with a little oral activity and not a minor amount of frustration.

In spring of my senior year there was one guy who asked me to go on an overnight hike with him. Over two nights, actually. I did really like the guy and I have always loved outdoor activities and I almost said yes. Why didn't I? I'm not real sure. I think it must just have been my nature. I mean I couldn't bring myself to lie to my parents. I knew they wouldn't let me go if they were aware it would be with just a boy. I couldn't bring myself to ask any of my friends to lie for me either. And just maybe I was a little afraid of spending a couple of nights in a sleeping bag with him. For whatever reason, I didn't go.

It was early April and people were talking about what they had planned for after graduation. I don't mean college - everyone had known what they were doing about that some time before. For several years I had set my mind on Ohio State and when I applied last fall and the acceptance came I had to start seriously looking for money. I would be out of state and that raised the cost quite a bit. The school counselors had pushed me to apply to an in-state school but I was determined on OSU if I could find any possible way to manage it.

I had always known I wanted to go to college and for a number of years I had known that my family couldn't afford to send me. However, here's where being below average income actually helped. I filled out all the financial aid forms and applied for scholarships wherever I could and when awards were made I found that I would need to borrow only a small amount. Between several scholarships and a couple of grants, I would only be a thousand or so short and I could get loans for that or maybe even earn a good part of it during the summer.

Which brings me back to activities after graduation. I had started looking for a summer job and had found one. I would be clerking at a local department store and would start the day after Memorial Day. I would be working five and a half days a week even if not eight hours a day. They didn't want to pay me any overtime. Anyway I didn't think I'd have a lot of extra time for other things except maybe something local. I thought I might be able to do some hiking or something or even a little backpacking in a near by state forest or something. I had taken up back packing when I was fourteen and loved it.

Thus when three different friends of mine began to talk about trips out west I became a little envious. If I'm honest a lot envious. I had never been west of Chicago but had dreamed of the Rockies and other western locations. I would love to go spend some time out there. I think each of my friends' parents were sponsoring their trip but I knew there was no way that could happen for me so I tried to hide my jealousy. That didn't mean I refrained from mentioning their trips around the dinner table. I didn't make a big thing of it or anything but I couldn't help talking about it a few times.

After dinner on Wednesday a week and a half before graduation, my parents said they wanted to talk with me. We all trooped into the living room and sat down. For several seconds no one said anything and then my parents looked at each other. Finally my dad turned towards me and began. "Lauren, you're graduating next week. We're both very proud of you and everything you have accomplished. We'd like to give you something special."

I interrupted. "You don't need to do that, Dad."

My mom suddenly interjected with surprising strength. "I know we don't HAVE to. That's one of the reasons we WANT to. You're a wonderful daughter and we want to do something special." Then in a lot more quiet tone she added, "I wish we could have done a lot more over the years."

I again started to say something but my dad got words out first. "Lauren, you know we haven't been able to get you a lot of things we would have liked to. I think you are mature enough to understand about that and why we haven't, but now we are going to give you a graduation present."

I sat back and waited as he gathered his thoughts a little and then said, "I wish we could send you on a nice long trip out to the western parks liked you mentioned a couple of your friends are taking, but I think you know we couldn't afford to cover everything like that, not to mention that the Chevy really isn't in good enough shape for you to make that long a trip by yourself. However, ..." He stopped for a second. If it was to catch my attention he needn't have bothered. I was all ears. "However," he began again, "we have found something that might do as a substitute."

"I talked to my brother Sam a few weeks ago." My uncle Sam lived over near Springfield in Ohio. He had a son, Tyler, my age, who was also graduating this year. Their family was quite well off. Unfortunately, Tyler recognized this and somehow managed to bring it up in some roundabout fashion every time I saw him, which, admittedly, wasn't very often. Our families did get together about twice a year but that was all. Physically Tyler was a hunk. He was quarterback of his school football team and captain of the baseball team. Between his looks and athletic abilities and relative affluence he had developed the outlook of a lot guys in similar circumstances. He thought the world owed him and believed he could do anything he wanted. If I was the good girl who would go to heaven, Tyler was the guy who would take the bad girls everywhere. He believed that if the world didn't actually revolve around him, at least it should.

All this flashed through my mind as Dad continued. "It seems that Tyler and a friend - Matthew something - are making a similar graduation trip. I'm not sure where all they are planning on going, but I know for sure Yellowstone and Grand Teton, maybe Glacier, and maybe some others. They have agreed to you going with them and we have reserved some rooms for you in these places. They are going to be camping a lot of the time but I know you like camping. They plan on being gone for the last week of July and most all of August. I know it's not exactly what you would want if you had full choice, but I hope it's something you'd like."

I think I just sat staring for several seconds, but it seemed to be for several minutes. "Mom, Dad it sounds wonderful, but you don't need to do that. I know we really can't afford even this."

Mom interrupted me again. "Lauren, we can afford this much. We've been saving for a present for you for a while now."

Dad put in, "We were afraid you'd think like that so we made some reservations and paid for them. Too late to change and get our money back now, so, Daughter, you may as well go and enjoy them."

I thanked them over and over repeatedly giving long hugs, partly to hide my wet eyes. Even if spending a month in the close company of my cousin wasn't at the top of my "to do" list, we did manage to get along. I didn't know this Matt but hoped he would be OK also.

The next day I e-mailed Tyler and over the next few days he told me about where they had planned on going, what to bring and so on. They would be doing some backpacking, but I had gear for that, so it wasn't a problem. Besides, like I said, I like that. I knew Tyler had his own car - a Corvette - and I wondered how he could get everything in there. However, he told me that we'd be taking Matt's car which was a mid-sized sedan so there would be plenty of room. Because we wouldn't be going until the end of July we thought we'd have plenty of time to work out any more details about what else we might need to decide. By the time graduation came the following Saturday I think I was more excited about making the trip than about finishing high school.

One Sunday late in June we made the two hour trip over to my uncle's place. In the afternoon while my parents and my aunt and uncle sat around discussing whatever it is that parents and aunts and uncles discuss, Tyler took me over to meet Matt. From the way Tyler acted, I'm not really sure if the main purpose wasn't to show off his Corvette rather than to introduce Matt. Matt seemed nice enough. He was a little shorter than Tyler, but Tyler was six foot two. Tyler had blonde hair while Matt's was a light brown that went well with his blue eyes. From the look of him I guessed he might be on the football team also and I later discovered he played end. However, while their physical resemblance was similar I quickly discovered there was a pleasant difference in the rest of their personality. As I've said, Tyler acted like the world revolved around him, but Matt seemed sincerely interested in me and treated me as an equal, something I could not imagine Tyler ever really doing.

Matt's house was not on the scale of Tyler's, but was certainly upper middle class. It was a two story colonial and was set on at least a half or three quarter acre with a number of large trees, especially in the back where we moved to sit around a small patio table. Matt got some soft drinks and then we discussed the trip. The car he would be taking was a year old midsized Dodge. He didn't hesitate to say it wasn't his, but belonged to his family. When we looked over it I decided we wouldn't have any trouble fitting in everything for the three of us.

We spent nearly two hours there, mostly talking about where we'd be going and what we'd be doing. I found that Matt had never been out west either. Tyler, of course, had made several trips with his family as well as one summer camp somewhere in Wyoming. Tyler didn't actually seem too interested in exactly what we'd be doing. I think just the idea of taking off and doing "things" was what got him excited. He also, as I might have expected, several times mentioned possibly meeting girls.

Matt, on the other hand, seemed excited about the same sort of things as I was myself: seeing the different parks we had read about, hiking in a different kind of geography than we had experienced, and learning a little of the history of the areas we'd be visiting. He also - at least it seemed to me - appeared interested in me both as a partner and as a girl.

I was happy to see this because I definitely noticed Matt. He was certainly good looking by anyone's standard. About six foot, well muscled and with a ready smile that showed a beautiful set of white teeth. Unlike many athletes he didn't really seem aware of his many assets, not acting superior as many such do. When he talked to me he sounded sincere and was just as interested in what I had to say as what he said himself.

I should probably say a little about myself. I'm five foot nine. I'm fairly tall but thankfully also pretty slim. Part of that is because I get a lot of exercise and don't always pig out on junk food. Well, sometimes, but not really a whole lot. I have honey blonde hair, a little longer than shoulder length which I generally wear down or pull into a pony tail if I'm doing something that it would hinder. My eyes are a deep blue and my nose and ears seem to go with the rest of my face. I curve out and in where I should even if not quite as much as some men - and not a few girls - want. I know no girl is ever completely satisfied with her looks but I had come to pretty well accept mine. I knew I wasn't model material, but, as I once heard a distant relative say about a passing woman, I didn't think I'd be thrown out of bed for eating crackers. I was all right, probably a little better than just all right, but I wasn't going to be the prom queen three years running or anything.

I found that Matt was also going to be attending OSU in the fall and was planning to major in engineering, probably electrical. I told him that I was going to be going there, too. My major would be business with a finance speciality. Tyler, of course, would never think of attending a state school. He would be going to Cornell. As far as I could tell he planned on a double major: fraternities and girls, not necessarily in that order. If my cousin was not totally spoiled rotten I was sure he had at least gone well past his "sell by" date.

We spent three and a half hours with Matt and the longer we were there the more I found I liked him. He never gave any indication that he was aware of differences in our financial status and it was very quickly obvious that he was not overly impressed with himself. Not that he was in any way self depreciating. He didn't act falsely modest about his abilities or accomplishments. I learned that he also had received scholarships and had a fine academic record in high school. He knew he was a good football player but had no illusions about being of sufficient caliber for a major university team.

I was also pleased to find that we had a number of areas of interest in common. He loved outdoor activities as I did myself. Our taste in music seemed similar, at least on the surface, as was our taste in reading. We both enjoyed historical fiction and science fiction genres. He was interested in photography, at least at an amateur level. I had received a digital camera as a graduation gift from an aunt and uncle on my mother's side and was eager to try it out on some of the landscapes I expected we would be seeing on our trip. And unlike my cousin Matt never made any reference to any other girls although I'm sure he was not without experience in this area.

I suddenly came back to the present as I heard a car pull into the driveway outside. I actually ran to look out and saw that it was who I had been expecting. Thirty seconds later the two guys knocked on the door which I opened immediately. I invited them in just as my parents came into the room. Everyone said hello and then my parents started to ask a few things about the trip plans. I was suddenly afraid we'd be another hour talking and I was practically jumping up and down in my eagerness to get going. I think my dad must have noticed because in just a minute he said, "Well, we don't want to hold you up. I know Lauren is ready so you might as well get going."

I silently thanked him and reached to pick up my things. I grabbed my small duffle and hiking boots but before I could try to pick up my backpack Matt hefted it. I smiled my thanks to him and all five of us headed out to towards the car. It took only seconds to fit my stuff into the trunk and then with a final goodbye and well wishes from my parents we climbed in and started off.

Matt was driving and Tyler rode shotgun while I settled into the back seat. As we started down the road from my house I saw my parents, arms around each other, waving to us. It seems silly to say that I could tell what they were thinking from the way they were standing but I think I could. This was the first time I had ever gone on anything more than an overnight without them. I know I was aware of this. Aware but not afraid or anything. I knew I could handle it, but I think they also realized that. I believe they were feeling happy that they could have given me this opportunity and also that they, too, realized that I had grown up quite a bit and was ready to do things on my own.

We soon picked up I-70 west towards Indianapolis. We were planning on just heading west until we felt like stopping for the night. It was only a little after nine when we left so we got to the capital before lunch time and turned north on I-65 towards Chicago. Somewhere about forty miles after that we pulled into a McDonald's and got some lunch.

When we started out again Tyler said he wanted to sleep some and suggested I move to the front so he could spread out a little more in the back. I certainly had no problem with this. While I had been in the back it was a little difficult to talk and at least Matt and I wanted to talk a little about what we'd be doing. Tyler joined in the conversation also but he didn't seem as hyped about things as the two of us were. Now Tyler slumped into the corner and closed his eyes. Matt and I began our own conversation.

There was a GPS on the windshield but I've always liked maps so I was frequently looking at one, anticipating where we'd be going and looking for interesting things along the way. At Chicago we took the tri-state bypass and switched onto the Northwest Tollway towards Wisconsin. As we crossed the border out of Illinois I remarked that this was a new state for me. In fact I had never been this far west or even this far from home in any direction. Matt replied that Wisconsin was a new state for him also although he had been further from home even if never in this direction.

We seemed to be able to talk easily and all the while Tyler slept in the back seat. Personally I didn't mind that at all. I'm sure if he had been awake he would have said something that would put me down in some way. I don't mean to give the idea that Tyler is deliberately mean or anything. Actually we rarely argued at all and got along fairly well. It was just that he would probably say something without thinking how it would seem to me. For example, when I mentioned I had added a new state I'm sure he would have mentioned just how many of the fifty he had been to. It wasn't that he would try to put me down or be mean. Rather it was just that he was so full of himself sometimes that he couldn't help mentioning something like that.

Tyler slept all afternoon. We stopped at a rest area about four thirty and he did get out but when we got back in he settled into his corner once again and I think he was asleep before we had merged back onto the highway. He finally came back awake as we were crossing the Mississippi into Minnesota. We heard him stir and Matt glanced back and said, "Welcome back." Then he added with just a tiny bit of sarcasm in his voice, "Have a good rest?"

It went right over Tyler's head and he answered, "Yeah. Say, where are we anyway?"

"Just crossed Old Man River," I replied. "We're now officially in the West."

"Oh," was his only response. Then after a few seconds he added, "When were you guys planning on stopping?