Where are you?

Last Saturday, it was snowy white outside and we couldn’t see George’s volcano. I asked him, “Are we in the fog or in the clouds?” He said, “We are in heaven.” I guess he’s still in honeymoon mood.

George and I have a mutual agreement that we are not supposed to hike in any new areas alone. A couple of weeks ago, we hiked on a trail (fire road) that winded its way uphill through a dense cedar forest. It was the first time we had explored that area. The trailhead is located about 500 feet from our home. It was raining and cold. After about 45 minutes of climbing, we decided that it was not safe to go all the way to the top. George wasn’t happy and he was determined to conquer that mountain. Early Sunday morning, he left for a walk with the doggies while I was busy cleaning the house. I asked him where he was going to go. He said, “Oh, I’m going up the hill.” I didn’t pay attention to the answer as I was busy. After one hour he called me, “Erika, guess where I am?” “I don’t know…you are on a hill, aren’t you?” I replied. “Yes, I can see all of Yufuin from here. It’s gorgeous!” I suddenly yelled at him and said, “Where are you?” “I said I would go up the hill,” George replied. “George, we are surrounded by hills. Nothing but hills.” “Oh well, you know…” I told him to come down. After one hour, he had not returned home. I called him many times, but he didn’t answer. I dropped everything and ran out the door while continuing to call him.

I finally reached him on the phone and shortly after, met him on the trail. I was out of breath and extremely worried. Here is the conversation I had with happy George.

“I was ready to call the police.”

“Gommen ne. (means I’m sorry.) When he uses the phrase, he doesn’t really mean it.

“I was so worried. Why didn’t you answer the phone?”

“I didn’t hear a thing.”He looked at his phone.

 Oh, the phone is set to ‘Vibrate’. OOPS!”

“You must call me every hour from now on when you take the dogs for a walk. If this happens again, you must call me every 30 minutes. Then every ten minutes.”

He had a huge smile and told me that he hiked to the top of the hill. He was amazed at how beautiful it was. I don’t think he heard a word I said. I couldn’t stop laughing inside, but I didn’t want show my happiness on my face. He needed to know how serious I was.

Erika