Chapter 8 A New Way to Live
Despite everything that happened, I was happy Broom had me come down here. Well, at the moment I was happy because the thought of him standing on that street wondering if I was going to come back for him was making me laugh. Sara told me it was a mean thing to do, which is true, but even she found the humor in it. Unfortunately in my unconscious haste to get out of there I must have left my hat at Van’s. I thought about swinging back and grabbing it but I figured he might not be too happy with me for ditching Broom. If I had to though, I’d have to guess it would make him laugh too. Luckily I found a cap in my back seat although I’m not sure if it was mine or if Broom accidentally left it behind. I couldn’t see him wearing something like this but I also couldn’t remember ever having the thing. Maybe someone else had left it here. Who else had been in my car though? Nonetheless, having him with me made me see that he was right. Or rather, he was right about trying to do something about changing his life. He may not have had the intention of actually doing it, but bouncing around like we had been and experiencing all the different people, place and things gave me a real impression of what was out here. That concept had been in the back of my mind ever since I left LA, but for various reasons ever since I left I seemed to be doing nothing more than finding excuses to go somewhere else. But I had been making excuses for long enough now. I wasn’t going to turn into Broom and simply lie to myself about what I was doing with my life. It was time for me to find a new home, and I considered just going to New York City right here and now although driving that far without Broom would take some getting used to. Or rather, some re-getting used to. On the other hand, part of the reason I left LA was to see what was out here and heading straight for NYC would mean I would have to skip across all sorts of potentially interesting people, places and things. And I didn’t want to do that. Granted, bouncing around for no reason sent me over the edge out west and I had just seen Broom’s failure to establish anything in his life so I knew it wasn't going to be easy. But I figured if I made a real commitment to finding a new way to live it would be different. I could actually look for an apartment and a job. I’d make a real attempt to see if I could find somewhere I belonged…which I knew wouldn’t be in Ohio. Would that be enough for me though? I guess I couldn’t say for sure. Unlike Broom I didn’t have anything set up or anyone in particular that I wanted to visit. I wasn’t even sure if this was the best thing for me…but the opportunity to find and create a whole different life for yourself isn’t something everyone has. I wasn’t about to pass up the chance to potentially find something special. And Pennsylvania seemed like as good a place as any to start looking. Despite the haphazard nature of this decision, I actually did put