If My Life Was a Hallmark Movie: Part II

Before we start... I feel like I owe you a tiny update.

Because I guess if you follow along, I may have accidentally left Part I on a bit of a cliffhanger.

The update…In true Hallmark fashion, that handsome stranger never walked through the hardware store doors and My country singer crush never wandered in looking for an extension cord… And also somewhere along the way, I officially left the hardware store myself to focus full-time on growing my business.

So I guess you can say, Part I remains exactly what it was always meant to be: a completely delusional "what if."

I guess my little dream of living inside “Billy Currington's Good Directions Song” never quite happened. Although, if we're being technical, my version would've been backwards anyway. I'd be the girl already living in the small town, and he'd be the one driving through asking for directions.

But it turns out my real life had another storyline waiting for me. 

Which means we're going to need to rewind…

To before the hardware store, back to thirteen-year-old Berkeley, when an old Volkswagen first became the dream.

Because that's where this Hallmark movie really begins: with a forty year old Volkswagen, a cross country road trip home for Christmas, and breaking down in a small town that Hallmark would've had an absolute field day with.

*********

This one took me a little longer to write than I had planned, well I guess it took me a lot longer to organize and get down.  

We'll just say that, much like the story you're about to read, my creativity had broken down for a little while. The funny thing is, the story was already there, I had already lived it. It was the “what if” Hallmark plot that sort of stumped me for about five months. 

As I mentioned above we first will need to take it all the way back to thirteen year old me.

Where, I once told my mom I was going to live in a box on the beach so I wouldn't have to pay property taxes. My mom, being the practical woman she is, came home one day with a little Matchbox Volkswagen camper and said, "Aim a little higher.”  Obviously this is the Reader’s Digest version of that story.  Because why bore you with every single tiny detail of that conversation… I think I also may have mentioned the story in more detail in my previous blog about the Van.  

Anyway continuing.. From that day on, owning an old Volkswagen van became a dream, or a goal of mine (I wish I could find the old stories we would write and come up with about our lives).  

Fast forward a handful of years...

California.

Sunshine.

Beaches.

And eventually...

Penelope.

A 1984 blue Volkswagen van that quickly became one of my favorite adventures on four wheels.

Now, naturally, because I apparently don't know how to do things the easy way, I came up with what I thought was the perfect plan. I had just flown back from a trip to Hawaii with friends, and my best friend was flying into California the very next day, and together we'd drive Penelope all the way back to Connecticut for Christmas.

Simple, right?

Never mind that I'd owned the van for less than six months.

Never mind that I planned to work remotely from the road.

Never mind that we were squeezing in a sunrise at the Grand Canyon, a few mini hikes through Petrified Forest National Park, and nearly 3,000 miles of driving.

Oh... and of course, I absolutely had to make it home before my mom's birthday on December 23rd.

Looking back, I guess there may have been one or two flaws in my plan. 

Five days.

One forty year old Volkswagen.

Two best friends.

And A Christmas deadline.

Funny enough, "What could possibly go wrong?" never even crossed my mind.

Which leads us into The first “hiccup” of the road trip which was when I took an exit on Route 66 thinking i’d find a gas station.. to only find nothing except no reception and pure darkness.   My best friend was asleep in the passenger seat .. and I was coming up on being desperate for gas.   I calculated the miles we went between gas stations.. to make sure we would never run out. The gauge works.. but it is also a little finicky.. So lack of sleep and being in an unknown area, in pure darkness.. I went into panic mode.. waking her up from her “nap” (Its a road trip we sort of nap.. on the drive and sleep at a stop).  Thankfully she was calm and could read the situation.  With her help we navigated to a gas station.. basically she really helped to calm my nerves and we navigated to a gas station. 

Now let’s get back into the famous last words of “what could possibly go wrong?”  

When I purchased the van, I knew it was going to need a new alternator, so I ordered a replacement for the "just in case purposes.” My only thought was, if the alternator was going to crap out on us.. I was praying it would be once we were far away and out of the desert.   I thought if we could make it past that, then we would be golden.  We were able to make a few short stops, The Grand Canyon National Park for sunrise , & Petrified Forest National Park for a few mini explorations.  We were able to drive 1,806 miles, from Ventura California to Jonesboro Arkansas, before our road trip would come to a halt at a gas pump.  

Thankfully I had Triple A, which I guess in some cases isn’t always helpful.. if you are in the middle of nowhere.  Triple A and $20 got us a drop off for the van at a local shop and a ride to the inn we would stay in for Two days. 

Locally in this town we had a waffle house, sonic, chilis, and hobby lobby to entertain ourselves with.  Those are the only places we stopped in and walked around; being carless we had to walk everywhere.     

The Waffle House is where we basically lived outside of our inn those few days, you can say it was our hub.   There we sat in one booth, with all of our bags .. we had checked out of the inn thinking we’d be good to go that next day, back on the road.  

There we were sitting outside the auto body shop on a bench, with each of our big bags (for our clothes), and our laptops.  As we were just waiting for an update.. some older gentleman came out and said “are you two ladies homeless” hahah “no sir, we are just carless and stranded for the moment.”   

When the update finally came, I found out that I in fact ordered the wrong alternator and we would have to wait another day/night. I guess I didn’t type in enough information when it came to the Volkswagen website.  BUT the cool thing about this situation was I got to go into the bay where the van was, and all the other cars they were working on.  I got to look in my van’s engine area and learn a bit more about my gal, P.   I felt pretty knowledgable too because, the mechanic said he had never worked on a van like mine before.  So this was my opportunity to share the little I knew, mixed with his knowledge of everything he knew in general.  I mean the only real information I knew about this van was where the alternator goes and looks like, how to change a tire, and the oil.   (I’ve learned a few other things since then.. I guess everything I did know wasn’t really anything impressive).  

After the few days, Penelope got her new alternator, we packed everything back into the van, thanked every person who helped us in Jonesboro, and continued our journey home. We made it back to Connecticut just in time for a snow storm.  Leaving me to drop my cousin off at her house, where I had a dead phone and had to navigate my way home the long way.   

Overall that wasn’t that bad of an issue, I was just grateful to have actually made it to the state of Connecticut and be 30 mins from home;  we had made it for both my moms birthday and Christmas.  

*******

Looking back, I don't remember Jonesboro because my van broke down.

I remember it because complete strangers made sure we felt taken care of.

The tow truck driver.

The woman at the hotel.

The mechanics.

They all treated us like we'd been part of their town forever.

It was one of those unexpected stops that somehow becomes one of your favorite memories.

..And this is where a Hallmark producer would “clear their throat.”  

We've got Christmas.

A vintage Volkswagen.

A charming little town.

Two best friends stranded on a cross-country road trip.

Kind strangers.

A local repair shop...

Now the only question we’d all like to know is..  where’s the handsome mechanic?

Hallmark would've started our very first trip into the garage a little differently.

It would have the mechanic disappear into the back carrying the brand new alternator I'd proudly ordered “for just in case purposes.” And a few minutes later he'd walk back out, wiping his hands on a faded shop rag.

"Well..." he'd say, holding it up with a grin.  "There's your problem."

I'd blink (if you know me you know the facial expression i’d be making). 

"What do you mean? That's not the problem, that’s the new one I ordered."

“it is the problem."

“But the website literally said it fit… that it was the right one…”

He'd laugh, pause and then say… ”Rule number one of owning a classic Volkswagen..."

I'd sigh. And simultaneously say … ”Never trust the internet?"

Where he would be nodding his head and say, ”Now you're learning.”

Whoaaaa...whoaa wait a minute before we get to far into this story.. 

And before anyone starts thinking I've secretly become a mechanic...

Let's lower those expectations.

I know where the oil goes.

I know how to change a tire.

I know what an alternator looks like.

And apparently… I know just enough to confidently order...the exact wrong one.

Okay okay… 

Now you can cue the small town Christmas music.

Because if this were actually a Hallmark movie, the van breaking down wouldn't just be an inconvenience.  It would be the entire reason the story existed.

Picture it.

Two best friends.

A forty year old Volkswagen.

A charming little town a few days before Christmas.

A repair shop where everybody knows everybody.

Pause… you know what the only thing missing is?

A completely unnecessary love story.

Actually... scratch that….two love stories.  

Because, I can't leave my best friend out of finding her Hallmark ending.. out of finding the man of her dreams. 

If we're fully committing to delulu land, we might as well do it right.

Think Nora Roberts.  One book follows my story.  The next follows hers.

Now, back to how Hallmark would've written it...

We pull into Jonesboro to fuel up before getting back on the road.

I turn the key.

Nothing.

Not even a click.

One phone call to my dad.

He's walking me through every trick he can think of while my best friend sits behind the wheel.

I push Penelope forward a little.

"It's in neutral," I promise. "I'm not secretly entering a Strongest Woman competition."

I yell, "Try it now!"

She turns the key.

Still nothing.

And now… Cue AAA.

Penelope gets loaded onto the tow truck, and we're told there's a repair shop just a few minutes away.  Thankfully, everything is within walking distance.

A cozy little hotel (inn.. maybe a glorified motel honestly.. but its cute and they were nice)…

A Waffle House we'd practically move into.

And the garage where our Christmas deadline would come to a screeching halt.

At first I thought Hallmark might make the tow truck driver the love interest.  But no, obviously he's entirely too nice and emotionally stable.  Hallmark saves those people for supporting roles (or maybe down the line.. this guy ends up being my best friends Hallmark dream man). 

The romance belongs at the repair shop.

Maybe he's the owner.

Maybe he inherited the family business from his grandfather.

Maybe restoring old Volkswagens is his passion, while fixing everyone else's cars simply pays the bills.  Either way, Hallmark would absolutely have him invite me into the garage to explain what went wrong.   Except instead of simply pointing out that I'd ordered the wrong alternator, he'd somehow convince me to stay and help while we waited for the correct one to arrive.

It would probably start with something simple.

"Can you hold this flashlight?"

I'd immediately look around.  "Me?"

He'd smile. "Unless there's another girl standing next to an old Volkswagen” (I mean my best friend is in this story too .. so she technically was there too.. so technically there would be another girl standing by the Volkswagen).

But in Hallmark delulu land...

One flashlight somehow turns into handing him tools.

Which turns into holding a wrench, while he tightens a bolt.

Looking up part numbers, learning the names of engine parts (I’ll absolutely forget by next Tuesday).

He'd explain everything without making me feel dumb. I'd do that thing we all do where you nod confidently hoping nobody asks a follow-up question.  I mean He'd probably know I was pretending to know what he was actually talking about, right?  

And somehow we'd spend more time talking than working.

About road trips.

National parks.

Small towns.

Christmas traditions.

and why anyone would voluntarily drive a forty year old Volkswagen across the country.

(For the record, I'm currently one successful trip and two failed attempts into this experiment... but who's counting?)

Somewhere along the way, fixing the van would stop being the interesting part.

Of course, my best friend would notice long before I did.

And every afternoon we'd leave the garage and start walking back toward our hotel.

She'd glance over with that look. "So..."

"Don't."

"You smiled."

"I did not."

"You absolutely smiled."

"I smiled because Penelope is getting fixed."

"Mhmm."

"What?"

"I'm just saying... you've suddenly become very interested in alternators."

"I am interested in alternators."

"Sure you are."

The conversation would end exactly the way it always does. Me insisting she was ridiculous, while I was blushing.  And Her knowing she was probably right.

But because this is Hallmark, the next couple of days becomes a montage.

Morning coffee and breakfast at Waffle House.

The same booth. Every single morning.

Walking to the repair shop.

Laughing with the mechanics.

Pretending I was helping while mostly handing over tools and trying to stay out of the way.

Sonic one afternoon.

Chili's the next.

Wandering Hobby Lobby simply because there wasn't much else to wander.

Somehow becoming friends with the hotel concierge.

Refreshing the tracking number for a very important alternator.

And watching a tiny Arkansas town slowly stop feeling temporary.

Somewhere between waiting... and wandering... Jonesboro stopped feeling like the place we got stranded and started feeling like part of the adventure.

By the third day, I'd probably find myself hoping he was the one working every time we walked into the garage.

Which was completely ridiculous.

I was there for an alternator.

Definitely...Just the alternator.

My best friend, naturally, wouldn't let me get away with pretending.

"So..."

"Don't."

"I'm just saying..."

"I know exactly what you're saying."

She'd grin. "I didn't even say anything."

"You didn't have to."

Because apparently all it takes to find love in a Hallmark movie is a broken down Volkswagen, a small town, and the wrong alternator.

And then the day is finally here, the new alternator arrives.

Penelope roars back to life.

My mechanic boyfriend... well, he isn't actually my boyfriend. He's just the fictional Hallmark mechanic my imagination hired for this scene.

…Anyway, he hands me the keys and says,  "Take good care of her."

I smile, ”I plan to... although she seems pretty determined to keep introducing me to small towns."

He laughs. "I guess that's one way to meet people."

I climb into the driver's seat.

Roll the window down one last time. “Thanks for everything."

He smiles. "Drive safe."

I wave.

We pull back onto the highway.

Christmas waiting somewhere east.

Hallmark would end the movie with one last shot of the repair shop growing smaller in the rearview mirror..leaving everyone watching to wonder whether someday we'd find ourselves passing through Jonesboro again.

And the last words replaying in my head "Drive safe."