I was looking forward to admiring the scenery and a change of pace as Aidan and I stepped on the bus that fateful morning. The sun was shining and we both excitedly awaited our arrival to our next destination. Not too long after we took off, however, I began to feel a strange sensation. Never had I longed more for slowness as I sat hunched over my seat, nauseated as the bus driver whipped around corners at an alarming speed. I tried drinking water and took a few deep breaths. I made the mistake of looking up over my seat as the driver made a sharp turn and stepped on the gas even more. I closed my eyes and leaned my head back in the seat as vertigo began to overtake me. My extremities began to feel weak and tingly. I gathered all of the energy inside of me to lean across the aisle and tap Aidan on the shoulder. “Hey do you have any alcohol?” I half whispered. He looked at me with a puzzled look on his face. It took a moment to think of the correct term. “Like rubbing alcohol? I feel like I’m going to pass out” I finally murmured. I already knew the response and began to feel desperate. To my surprise, he nodded his head yes and immediately began to dig through his pack. Meanwhile, my stomach threatened to expel the little I had eaten that morning, vanilla wafers and chocolate crunch. I looked down at the only thing that would suffice a puke bag. There was no time left to salvage my warm freshly baked chocolate croissant, baguette, ham or cheese. My eyes were watery as I closed the grocery bag and stuffed it between my feet. “Aidan do you have a plastic bag I can have? I’m going to vomit.” He rummaged through his pack and handed me a crinkled grocery bag. I opened the bag ready to hurl and to my dismay, there were a bunch of tiny holes that had punctured the bottom. “Aidan this one is torn at the bottom.” I turned towards my red pack to look for a bag. Time was ticking. “I found one Aidan.” I turned in his direction and saw as he held my barfed-on groceries with his bare hands. “Oh no, I already puked in that bag!” He smiled as he tried to maintain his composure and said “Oh that’s cool.”
In an attempt to console me he said, “You know what they say, you’re not true friends with someone until you’ve held their puke in your hands.”
And this was the defining moment of our friendship. Thank you Camino.