Coming Home: Part Four
We’ve finally come to the end of Blackwarren Art Director Ivy Beth Gladstone’s whirlwind trip home to Puerto Rico! Here’s her last instalment of her travelogue.
Day Four: A Birthday, A Gathering, Taking It All In
Post-party and being in the hotel room, I barely slept. I had so much on my mind that I couldn’t put my mind at ease. I started writing my recap of the previous day to help calm my nerves, wondering if it would let me get more rest. I would doze off here and there. At 4 AM I interrupted my partner, but they were able to go back to sleep. We ended up waking up together at 7 AM, my partner wondering why they felt they didn’t get enough sleep; I felt so guilty. But they wanted to see some beach, so we walked down to the back side of the hotel where they had various pools, a small private section of beach, and a walkway to see more of the coastline. It was so nice. The breeze is always a treat and watching the water clash against the boulders on the shore never gets old. Our checkout was at noon. We checked out a little early to just hang out in the lobby while we waited for our friend to pick us up. The state of anxiety wouldn’t leave my mind, knowing that we had to make some prep when we would get back to my house. Our friend made it to the drop-off area in front of the lobby, and we left.
We stopped near my house to pick up some food before arriving. My father greeted us at the door, upset that he had been waiting for a plumber to show up since 9 am - he was still waiting, and he had to leave to go pick up my brother. We would take care of the plumber whenever he was coming over to fix the faulty faucet in his room. We got the hose and brought it into the extra part of the living room, an extended area that my Mom had gotten built, as she had one time wanted to have a double living room situation. You can see how unleveled the floor had been made when spraying the water would only pool on one side. Mind you, most houses in Puerto Rico are concrete, so tiles are widespread.
The residue the hose was bringing out from the floor was black. This really showed how much they truly needed a proper clean. My friend took the broom to scrub down the water, mixing it with detergent, and would push the excess out of the back sliding door, then continued to clean the rest of the floor with a mop. We sprayed enough water inside to make it work. Meanwhile, I took on the chairs and the tables. The chairs needed to be scrubbed badly; one by one I would spray, sponge, and wipe down with disinfectant wipes. The tables were next, and then my friend continued mopping out after. Before we knew it, we were done; my father returned home with my brother. He barely noticed what we did, but he was grateful to say the least. I ordered dinner for us and the other guests as they arrived one by one. My partner and my bestie, the one that had driven and helped us clean, left for a moment to get something and came back. As soon as all the refreshments and food were done, we had a surprise cake for my dad, an ube and cream cheesecake decorated with a Star Trek theme. He was very happy and enjoyed the cake. The night was with good stories, memory retellings, and laughter all around. Even my dad joined in.
My father stayed by our side pretty much throughout the evening. That evening we said our goodbyes and ended up staying with another friend.
Day Five: The Last Get-Together Before the Flight
We woke up around 7 am, still (for pretty much the whole duration of the trip) unable to get enough rest. I woke up with a sore throat. Thinking that it would go away, I went and got in the shower to help wake me up and just get myself refreshed. Soon after I got dressed and go into the living room where I saw my friend trying to feed her cat. My partner followed along with the shower too; soon we were all together in the living room watching some YouTube. I was waiting on another friend to come get us for this last get-together. He wasn’t answering me, and it was already getting late. Everyone else that I had invited had confirmed they were going. Finally, I was able to reach my friend - it turns out he had overslept. He managed to get us around 12:45 pm. We rushed out to his car, put our luggage in, and we were on our way.
We made it to the restaurant first. We asked for a big table in the finest area of the restaurant. It mimics a cave, with subterranean textures onthe walls. It was so nice to be back to this little hidden gem. My mother used to love coming here to “La Cueva Del Chicken Inn” as it was called, as it had the best pizza and food around. My other friends finally arrived, till all were seated. We talked and laughed; the only downside was the service was all over the place. Yet before we knew it, it was already time to leave, as we had a plane to catch. I hugged everyone and said our goodbyes as we shoved off. We made it to the airport and said our goodbyes to my friend, both telling him we loved him.
Trying not to cry, we went inside. We got through security and made it to our gate, but our connecting flight was going to be very tight. I spoke to the flight attendant to see if we could arrange a wheelchair to take me to the proper gate. He re-arranged our seats and put us in the system. It turned out we weren’t the only people making this same connecting flight. There were 20 people altogether. We left San Juan and landed in Fort Lauderdale where there was a genteel man waiting for me with a wheelchair. Thanks to his help, we made it to our connecting flight by the skin of our teeth. And still, there were people right behind us to catch this flight. We got seated and, of course, nothing can be without drama. A woman 2 rows in front of us was complaining, being very angry that she had to wait for people to board, despite the fact that there was no need for that at all. 5 minutes later, the doors closed and we were about to take off.
My throat still was sore so I had a mask on, but the coughing also wouldn’t stop. I think I’m getting sick, I thought to myself. Could it have been from all the dust and dirt from my house? Could it have been from the temperature change? Who knows. Around midnight, we landed. We both were tired. My partner’s sister picked us up and we went home. To say the least, this was very eye-opening; my friends have not changed, which I was glad to discover. They are still the same great people I love; even with their shortcomings, they are all wonderful. I miss them greatly. My father, however, I don’t even know what to think anymore. The amount of stress he piled on me while I was visiting made things very complicated. This was not the first experience I wanted my partner to have while being back in my home country. I can’t control anyone, nor do I have the means for that, though.
The reason we came down, the party, meant that I did see a lot of ex-coworkers, but barely had any conversations. I had even less with my boss, whom I had wanted to talk to. Instead, the party just felt like a glorified self-pat on the back for the company. Regardless, I’m still grateful we were included or I wouldn’t have been able to make this trip happen without their help. It is still a lot to think that I have not been back for 7 years, and yes, things have changed, but my people have survived and are still trying to make things work when they haven’t been working.
And yes, when I got back, I got sick.
That’s it for Ivy’s tumultuous trip to Puerto Rico over the holidays! Next up, as we move into the depts of the winter, a series on how all of our favorite things to do when you’re cooped up inside and the snow is piling up.