Christmas of 1996 I was a poor graduate student with a full time job, living in Greensboro NC. I was also very alone, as my family was in PA and most of my friends were heading back to their own families for the holiday.
It was my first Christmas away from home. I could not afford a plane ticket and did not have the time, because of my work schedule, to drive.
Until my ex-boyfriend, who I followed to North Carolina, called to ask if I wanted a ride as far as Latrobe. And one of my co-workers offered to switch vacation days so I could take the ride.
So Christmas Eve found me wrapped in a blanket, sitting in the passenger seat of the ex's Miata with the the top down, driving through the mountains of West Virginia. The sky was clear, the stars bright and the radio was playing Elvis' Blue Christmas. It was a perfect moment.
My brother picked me up in Latrobe and drove me home, where I surprised my parents by walking through their bedroom door at 2 am.
Four years later, on a clear, cold, starry, January evening, I married the ex-boyfriend.
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