I found a nice hotel in Missoula. It had a fireplace in the lounge and western art on the walls. It was cozy. It felt like a vacation. An escape from the tragedy of drug overdose. Of course, I still did not know why my beautiful Anne had taken Fentanyl! (The sinister bottle of OxyContin was given to her when her sweet baby was born). We unpacked our things in the room as a family, and everyone was excited. We arrived the day before Thanksgiving, and I had already been planning for all of us to have Thanksgiving dinner with the sweet baby’s father. My beautiful Anne and her brother wanted the Thanksgiving meal to come from Cracker Barrel, so it would be like home rather than finding a restaurant. I thought it was a great idea!
My beautiful Anne contacted the sweet baby’s father, and we drove to his dorm on the University of Missoula campus. It was a nice reunion. Her brother and I let the three of them have time together and he and I drove around the little town of Missoula for a while. After a couple of hours, we went back to pick up Anne and the sweet baby girl. The baby’s father knew that beautiful Anne had taken Fentanyl before we had left for the trip to come see him and was supportive of her fragile sense of self and treated her sweetly. He suggested we all go to Thanksgiving breakfast in the morning at a popular breakfast restaurant that was open on Thanksgiving Day. We all agreed it was a good idea.
Back in the hotel, my son and I relaxed after the trip and the day with some T.V. and beautiful Anne, and the sweet baby girl got ready for bed. Beautiful Anne took more Gatorade, ibuprofen, and some anti-diarrhea medicine to combat the uncomfortable feelings of withdrawal from the Fentanyl. I was so proud of Anne. She was doing a great job of holding herself together during all the drug effects, travel, and excitement.
The smell of my coffee brewing woke my son and beautiful Anne. The sweet baby girl remained in a slumber in the borrowed hotel crib. Anne woke up a bit frantic. She was insecure about the baby’s father really wanting a relationship with her and the sweet baby girl. I gave her a pep talk and said, “Let’s enjoy our time,” “You will be Ok”. She took more of her Gatorade, ibuprofen, and anti-diarrhea medicine to continue to help fight the symptoms of withdrawal from the Fentanyl. She continued to be shaky and somewhat fragile, but was coping with all the activities, including a sweet baby girl who cried and need constant care. Of course, her brother and I were there and helped support her when she was overwhelmed. We loaded up in the car and went to pick up the sweet baby’s father.
With smiles, we arrived at the breakfast restaurant after picking up the baby girl’s father. The restaurant was a small, white-painted diner in a brick strip mall. The place was busy, and the chatter inside was invigorating. I had a sense of peace and calm because we were all together. I was imagining how everything was going to work out for the better for my beautiful Anne, the sweet baby girl, and her father. We stood waiting for a bit and were finally seated in a red vinyl booth. The clatter of plates, glasses, and the sound of the cook calling up orders was comfortable. I vividly remember the environment. My son and the sweet girl’s father were talking about college and football at the table. The sweet baby girl’s father was a University of Missoula football player. He had gotten a full scholarship to go there. He and his family felt it was a big deal because it was a D-1 school, and he may have the opportunity to become a professional football player. He chose the school in Montana for that reason. He said he just had a feeling it was where he belonged. Eventually, the conversation turned toward my beautiful daughter. She was laughing and sharing with the sweet girl’s father all the things the baby girl had been doing and how it was going with her care. I remember how much I loved hearing my beautiful Anne laugh and how she seemed to enjoy the moment we were living in the restaurant. The topic of conversation changed again, and we began talking about our silly event on our flight to Missoula. How we forgot the diaper bag when we went through security at the airport at home and flew without formula, bottles, and diapers, but put seven-up on the pacifier to keep the sweet baby girl calm and content. We talked about how beautiful Anne and her brother asked for bottles, diapers or formula from people while I ran around trying to find some too. Anne and her brother couldn’t leave out how people thought they were married, trying to take care of this tiny baby! We all burst out laughing. My daughter is a bit more reserved about those events than me!
After we ate, we decided to drive around the town of Missoula and drive toward the mountains to explore a little bit before it was time to pick up our food from Cracker Barrel for Thanksgiving dinner. The weather was nice, and the area was very scenic. We had a wonderful time driving around and talking. Then we drove back into town to pick up our Thanksgiving dinner from Cracker Barrel. We went to our hotel room and set the table for our meal. Beautiful Anne stepped into the bedroom to take her Gatorade, ibuprofen, and anti-diarrhea medicine and sleep for a bit while her brother and her boyfriend watched some T.V. Beautiful Anne came out of the room after her nap and embraced her boyfriend and snuggled with the sweet baby girl. All was good.
We ate our Thanksgiving dinner and talked about life in Missoula and at home. It was a nice conversation. We spent several hours just eating, relaxing, and watching T.V. It was then time to call it a day. My beautiful Anne, my son, and the sweet baby girl stayed at the hotel while I drove Anne’s boyfriend to The University of Missoula.
The next day, my son and I trekked up to a mountain next to the University of Missoula, where a prominent white stone M is displayed on the side of the mountain. Beautiful Anne and the sweet baby girl hung out with Anne’s boyfriend for the afternoon. They went shopping, had lunch, and dinner together. In the morning, we would start our journey back home. When beautiful Anne and the sweet baby girl returned to the hotel, they were both exhausted and lay down to sleep for a while. When Anne woke up, she was crying and terribly sad. She drank more Gatorade and took the anti-diarrhea medicine and ibuprofen to curb the Fentanyl withdrawal. I tried to console her saying, “Anne, everything will be alright, let’s take things one day at a time.” I had no awareness of the tremendous fracture that had occurred, not just from her taking Fentanyl prior to our trip, but the OxyContin that was given to her when the sweet baby girl was born. My beautiful Anne’s point of impact for addiction. That evening, we packed up most of our things so we would be ready to leave without rushing in the morning.
In the morning, I made coffee, and we got ready. We packed our luggage and car seat into the rental car. Unfortunately, we couldn’t see the baby’s father again before heading to the airport because he didn’t have a car. It was hard for Anne to leave without saying goodbye. Anne again drank Gatorade, had ibuprofen, and anti-diarrhea medicine to ease the Fentanyl withdrawal. But this morning, she was very shaky and emotionally fragile. She started talking about staying in Montana. I discouraged it because she had no place to live, she was very emotionally and chemically unstable, and she had a brand-new baby. She fought and argued about it for most of the time before leaving for the airport; it was exhausting! She was afraid. The sweet baby’s father did not encourage her to stay at this time. He was new to the university and only had a dorm room and limited funds. For beautiful Anne, it was the realization that she was leaving the person she loved that made her feel safe, and with him, all that had happened with having the baby and taking the Fentanyl were not tragic mistakes. (At this time, we still didn’t know why she took the Fentanyl.) We arrived at the airport and returned home without incident.
Part 5 – coming soon
