Gloria's Romantic Monday: A Trip Out Of Town

***Gloria is a friend of mine I know from church. She is a single mother. She has a boyfriend, Gregory, who we all love and her son's father, Rufus, who we all hate. She is fun-loving and hilarious. Gloria is the type of friend who'd be there for you at a party, when things get tough, or even if you need help applying for school.***
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Last week, I talked about my hope that Gloria and Gregory would have found time to spend together. But that was not to be. I forgot that Gloria was leaving town this past week. She headed to Austin, Texas on Tuesday to spend time with one of her closest friends that she grew up with. This woman lives down there with her husband and two children.


I figured that type of trip was good for Gloria because she is headed towards a life with a husband and 2+ children, so seeing it up close through the lens of one of her closest friends probably did more for her than talking about it ad nauseum with any of her friends who still live in Chicago.


Also, Gloria has been considering moving to warmer climates and Texas is at the top of the list. That terrifies me because of what they're doing to their education budget, but I guess they have good and bad schools like everyone else. And aside from education, Texas does have things to offer, especially if you love to eat or love sports (and cultural diversity).


Gloria and I were texting back and forth on Saturday night. She was ready to come home because she missed her son terribly. Also, Austin didn't seem to be providing the good time she'd hoped it would. Travelling in your mid-20s is a new world. It's not like college travelling where all you need is some food, good company, and a couple of clubs to declare the trip and success that needs to be repeated. When you're in your mid-20s, what you're leaving behind stands out and is weighed constantly against what the new place has to offer. And the whack clubs in Austin don't match up to spending time at home with her son, reading the Cat in the Hat and the Cat in the Hat Returns.


I wish Gregory could have gone with her down there. I think it would've been good for him and her to spend time in a place that could theoretically become their home. I don't know that Austin was on the list of places Gloria felt she could move to in Texas, but I figure it probably was on the list since one of her closest friends lives there. I just always think of Dallas and Houston (and maybe Fort Worth) when people say Texas.


It feels like the trip down there was an audition of sorts for Gloria. Once she's back on Chicago soil, with her son in her arms, feeling Chicago's cold ass version of Spring, I'll be interested to see what her opinion is of moving to Texas and whether it's gotten stronger or weaker. I imagine with her son and Gregory there with her, she'd have a higher opinion of the place. We'll see.