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It has been a long 8 months. The divorce had started a snowball effect in my life. I had moved out of my house, changed jobs, and every routine that I once had that made me feel comfortable was now gone or different. Everything felt out of control; I felt out of control.

The only good thing that I can say about my divorce was that there were no kids involved. My name got drug through the mud in every way possible. I caught her in bed with another man and I am made out to be the bad guy because I didn't want to pay alimony. She ended up with the house which was fine with me. I didn't want to see that place and the memories it held ever again.

I found a new job about an hour away and got a small house with a short commute. It wasn't the most lavish place in the world but it did it's job. The job was a big change for me. I have always been terrified of change when it comes to jobs. When I get comfortable at a job and an income it is almost like a security blanket. I had been at my old job for 5 years so I had some seniority. Leaving that would make me low man on the totem pole and the first one gone if anything was to happen. But to my shock I wasn't hired as a regular employee like I had applied for, I was promoted to a supervisor position with a hefty pay raise. My new boss, Jim, said he saw potential in me and a eagerness to succeed but a lack of self esteem; which he said he was willing to raise in order to accomplish his goals.

For 8 months my life has been work and court dates, but I am finally free. The papers are signed now and I am done. Being divorced leaves a lot of free time on your hands though. I had to find a new hobby and fast before I lost my mind. Late one night I found some videos that interested me greatly, off the grid camping. I fell in love with the idea of being in the middle of nowhere with nobody around for miles. With my new pay raise I had kept living off my old salary and started putting the rest in my savings. I began my research, traded in my old truck for a newer 4 wheel drive, and bought an old camper that I could fix up. For the next year I spent my nights and weekends testing the camper or working on it.

It was right at 2 years since my divorce when things got a little weird. And by a little I mean my world was about to be flipped upside down again.

It was late one Friday night and I was finishing up building a new water tank system in the camper and working on my 2nd Hurricane when I heard a knock on the door. I looked at my watch, it was 11:20 PM. "Who in the world would be here this late?" I whispered to myself as I walked to the camper door. I swung the door open to see a familiar face. Standing at the door way was my ex wife's sister. Something was wrong, she was crying.

"Ree what are you doing here?! How did you find me?! What's wrong?!" I exclaimed as a million questions came rushing through my head.

"I don't know honestly. I needed somebody to talk to that knows the family but is no longer involved anymore. Someone that would understand but be unbiased. You were the only person I could think of." She sobbed out between the tears.

"Come on. Let's sit down." I said as I ushered her to the chairs I had on the front porch. "Can I get you something to drink?" as I motioned at my Hurricane.

"Water please. I have to drive home."

"Not like that you're not. Your eyes are so swollen that I can barely see your pupils. What's wrong?!" I said in a voice she recognized. We were always close all the way up until the divorce. But I haven't heard from her since the papers were signed.

I went in the house and returned with a cold bottle of water and a wet rag for her to wipe her face.

"Neil left me. We have been arguing a lot. Tina and Megan are taking his side blaming me for it, saying that I didn't show him enough attention and am too harsh on him."

I winced at the mention of Tina. I instantly pulled out my pack of smokes and lighter.

"Sorry. I didn't think about it. But they are blaming me! He is the one that stays gone all the time. Between him working 3rd shift and me working 1st, and all his band practices and bar room gigs there is no time for us. He expects me to just tag along all the time. But I get tired of being hit on all night by a bunch of men with brewery breathe in a shit hole that smells like piss."

"Sounds like they are confused as to which one of you is their sibling. And how can they blame you? He could easily make the decision to play less gigs and spend more time with you."

"Exactly! But to them I should put his aspiring music career in front of anything else and be supportive."

"There is a difference in being supportive and giving up your life to follow him around." I said while putting out my cigarette and finishing off my drink. "How did you find me?"

"A few months ago you wrote that letter to Mom. I took a picture of the return address as a just in case of an emergency." Her eyes dropped to the ground shyly in an almost ashamed face.

I chuckled, "Well you're here, so what's the emergency?"

"Asshole! Did you not listen to anything I said?!" She cut at me with a snide smile.

"Yea I heard that your fiance is a self centered asshole and your sisters are taking his side. But I also got a smile out of you." I said grinning.

"You were always pretty good at making me smile. That's another reason why I came here. Well I guess I got what I wanted so I should be leaving now." She said as she stood up and started walking down the steps.

"Did you not hear me? I said you aren't driving like that. You can take my bed in the house. I will stay in the camper. You need some time away and to think. Go inside, help yourself to the pantry. Then get some rest."

She thought about it for a second and came back on the porch. "I guess you're right. Thanks Will."

The next morning I woke up early with a slight hangover headache. I went outside on the porch and lit up my morning smoke. I was jonesing for my morning coffee but I didn't want to wake Ree up after the night she had. Then a thought crossed my mind, "Why did she come to me?!" I sat there thinking for a few minutes, shook it off, and went to work on the camper. I had a lot to do before next weekend.

About an hour later Ree came stumbling out the front door, face still red but the swelling had subsided.

"Good morning sunshine! Want some coffee?"

"Yes please. And a smoke if you got an extra." She mumbled with her eyes still half shut.

I pointed at my pack and lighter on the table and headed inside. A few minutes later I returned with 2 mugs of coffee still steaming.

"Careful that's hot." I said as I handed her's over and then sat down in my chair. "Sleep well?"

"Not really. I cried a lot. Then Megan started calling so I turned my phone off and just laid there for a while thinking. I don't know when I finally dozed off." Ree said with a slightly raspy voice that I couldn't tell if it was from the morning time or crying all night.

"So why me?" I said after a few minutes. I instantly regretted my decision of words. Not that they were wrong, I just get nervous and over analyze intense situations in my head. So I changed my statement to "I meant why did you come see me? You have tons of friends. And you haven't spoken to me since the divorce."

"I haven't spoken to you because I thought you would be mad at me."

"Mad at you? For what?!" I said so quickly that it surprised myself.

"You got a divorce from my sister. I don't know. It's complicated."

"Ok. I will accept that answer for now. But why choose to come see me?"

"I really don't know. I mean you used to give me the best advice and talk to me like no body else would. You were brutally honest with me no matter how much it hurt. But every single time, I needed to hear what you had to say. When shit hit the fan, you were the first person that I thought of." She had started to tear up again.

"Hey. Enough of that shit. I am in no way mad or upset at you. A little confused maybe, but not mad. And he is not worth crying over. You may have loved him but he didn't love you. If he did then he wouldn't have drug you all over creation every weekend to those shit hole bars. He would've made time for you and put you first."

The look of shock in her face told me that either I had said something she had never been told or never seen from that perspective. "How did you move on? How did you forget about her?"

"I didn't. I just found something to take up most of my time and get as far away as possible." I said as I gestured towards the camper.

"I meant to ask you about that. What is that thing? I have never seen a camper like that before."

I stood up and motioned her over. "This is my off the grid camper. I renovated an old camper to do what I want. It can go anywhere and has enough water and food in it to last me 14 days."

"I love camping! It looks like you are packing up. Which campgrounds do you go to?"

"I am getting ready for my big trip next week. I am leaving next Saturday morning. The plant is shutting down for the 4th of July and major maintenance repairs. And I don't use campgrounds."

Looking rather confused she asked, "Then where do you camp?"

I chuckled. "Off the grid means I can go anywhere. I have an old friend from college that has 200 acres up in the mountains about 4 hours away. He hunts up there in the winter but in the summer it is unused. He gave me permission to stay up there for the week as long as I clean up after myself. He even sent me a map of the place and pointed out a spot he thinks I will love!" I said excitedly and pulled out the map off the counter top from just inside the camper doorway.

"That sounds like fun! Gosh I would give anything for a getaway like that! Well I better get going. Thanks for the place to stay and the advice." She said as she hugged me and headed towards her car.

We said our goodbyes and I watched her drive away. I went back to work checking and double checking everything and packing it away for my trip. But I couldn't stop trying to figure out what the hell had just happened.

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