Alabama Rain

TUESDAY, JUNE 21, 2011 8:55 PM, EDT

Alabama Rain

The first time I met Nathan was in a small classroom in Radiography school. I, destined to be an over-achiever in my new-found direction, was sitting on the front row in the required uniform of white scrubs and white athletic shoes. I found out the hard way that this dress code was not strictly enforced, and I was only one of a handful who took it seriously on Day 1...and nary a day after. We were all new to "xray school," but the other 15 students had an edge over me - I had migrated to Wisconsin just 4 months earlier. My outright intent was to help Mama find a house...my silent intent was to find my purpose. I needed to feel like I was making a difference. I needed to feel like I was doing something great. Mama suggested Radiography - when I found that I could help people while blending art and science, I was intrigued. I always felt that it would be a stepping stone, but to what I didn't know.  At any rate, there I was on the front row, ready to over-achieve. 

The second I opened my mouth, my thick Southern accent filled the room. For the first time since I moved to Wisconsin, someone laughed at me...andnot because I was funny. It wasn't even a sweet, "what a cute accent" kind of laughter...it was like a "who the heck does this girl think she is?" kind of laughter! I swiftly turned around to see who was so rudely laughing at me...seriously, he was stilllaughing...and mocking me. And there I was, glowing in my white scrubs on the front row, looking back at the guy in the back row, cap on backwards, non-compliant with the dress code Nate.

Nathan and I were friends long before we started dating...a whole month or so. And we kept it from everyone in class so that we could keep the drama to a minimum...for at least 6 months. To be honest, I never thought we'd make it past 1st Semester. But the next Summer, as we approached a year, we decided to take a trip down to the beach. We drove my Altima down to Birmingham, spent the night with Tiff, then had breakfast with Granny and the Willies on the way down to Gulf Shores. I will never forget Nathan's face the first time he saw the Gulf. He had never been outside of the Midwest at that point, and he was hooked. And who wouldn't be - God gave Alabama beaches that are to die for. After a couple of days of exceptional seafood (shout out to the Gulf Shores Steamer and Sea and Suds!), we jumped in the car and drove to New Orleans. I have always loved NOLA, and this trip was really fun! The last night of our trip was spent in T-town with Anna, Mere and Katie. But the real trip started the next day.

Anyone who lives in Alabama knows how a Summer rain can make driving conditions hazardous rather quickly. Oil and water don't allow for friction, and this is especially true of Alabama roads in the rain. I woke up to Nathan stopping the car on I-65N, which is disturbing anyway. But to see a car at a dead stop in front of us through a downpour of rain was terrifying. After asking Nathan what was going on, I told him to go around the car. He turned the wheel, foot on the break, checked the rear view mirror, and said calmly, "Oh, shit!" We missed the car in front of us, but only because Nathan had already prepped to go around them. But when the car behind us hit us going 65 miles an hour, we were shoved over onto the side of the road. We looked at each other...my neck hurt - the impact flung my head into the headrest behind me. We got out of the car to check on the couple who hit us - an elderly couple. They were fortunate. Airbags deployed, and they were ambulating. We went back to the car to move items from the trunk to the back seat...I remember the argument clearly. Heaven forbid our souvenirs get wet! I had those souvenirs picked out before we even left Wisconsin! The axel was off the car, and we thought our biggest worry was how we would get back to Wisconsin. 

And then we heard it - a noise that I will never forget. Car tires screeching across a wet Alabama interstate. I looked up, and in slow motion behind Nathan was a car spinning towards us. Nathan saw it, too. He turned to me and said, "They're going to hit us." I said, "I know. I love you." And with that, the spinning car hit the Altima, pushing it forward, then caught the mud and spun the other way. It missed Nathan, hit the Altima again between Nathan and myself, and then spun again. The car hit me in the back of the knees, and I flew feet-first a few feet, Matrix-style. When I hit the ground, all I could think of was waking up with X-rays in a trauma bay, and I did not want to be naked in a hospital that day. I heard Nathan yell, "Tell me she's alive!" And I thought, "Oh my goodness, he thinks I'm dead! I've got to get up!" And I did. And he caught me.

I knew that day I would marry Nathan Frey...and if we could make it through that, we could make it through anything. I told him that day that we were meant to do great things together...and here we are...doing them