Because Purple EXTRAS - more Ed & Kate!

New Mexico - a One-Shot

Ed wouldn't let me handle the luggage. He enlisted Lucy's and Nate's help at the baggage carousel to keep watch for our bags, but he wanted me to sit down. I felt silly doing that - there was no reason I couldn't help. But he was being protective, so I humored him.

Actually, I loved being able to watch him interact with the kids, which is what I did while I sat and rested. They'd so easily and naturally fallen into a beautiful relationship - one built on affection and trust, and I'm so thankful for that.

They finally collected all of our bags and we headed out of the Albuquerque International Sunport toward the shuttle that would take us to the car rental center. I hated that car rental center. I always felt harried there. In the past, I was always stressed and tired by the time I got there. They never had the car I reserved, and always tried to get me to take a more expensive one. I'd even gotten lost looking for the car they assigned to me - more than once. So it wasn't my favorite place. I was happy to let Ed take the reigns and deal with the car rental. It all went smoothly for him, though. Figures!

We got a Chevy Suburban. It was spacious and sturdy and comfortable and handled the winding mountain roads of New Mexico like a boss. I insisted on driving this first leg, though, because I knew my way around, and I wanted to take all of us through some really fun places before arriving in Santa Fe. I didn't take the direct route of I-25 straight north, which would have only taken an hour. I took the picturesque Turquoise Trail (NM hwy 14), instead, which winds through the foothills of the Sandia Mountains, and is spotted with numerous ghost towns and artists' colonies.

We stopped in Madrid (pronounced MAD-rid, oddly enough) for lunch. It is an old coal mining town that practically dried up and died in the 1950's, but experienced a rebirth as an eclectic artists' colony in the 1980's. It consists of one main street (the highway going through the town) where old miners' shacks have been converted into restaurants, gift shops and art galleries.

We ate at the Mine Shaft Tavern, a sassy, raucous, boozy, friendly roadhouse with some of the best green chile cheeseburgers in New Mexico. It's seen its share of celebrities, so even when a few employees and patrons recognized Ed, there was no fuss made, other than a few really nice compliments about his music. New Mexicans tend to be very low-key.

As we ate I told Ed and the kids the story of how I was there at the Mine Shaft one night with some college friends a long time ago. We met and started chatting with a character named Bobby. Bobby was of an indiscriminate age - he could have been anywhere between 40 and 70. He had dirty brown hair, a leathery face, a slim build like many of those with native New Mexican blood, and a twinkle in his very light blue eyes. He was extremely intoxicated. Bobby regaled us with a tale of a bank robbery - supposedly committed by him and an accomplice. It was in a small, southern New Mexico town many, many years previously, and involved hijinks, hilarity, and Bobby cast as a sort of modern-day Robin Hood. He was quite an entertaining story teller, and from then on was known in some circles as Bobby the Bank Robber.

It's not unusual to come across such characters in New Mexico. They don't call it the Land of Enchantment for nuthin'.

After we finished lunch we stopped in a few shops and galleries, but I was getting really tired. The air is thinner in New Mexico because the altitude is much higher than what we are used to in Chicago. So I tired more easily. We decided to move along and get ourselves to Santa Fe. Ed agreed to drive the final 30 miles.

We made a quick stop at the property office. I went inside to check-in and get the keys to the house we rented for the week. I chatted with the very nice proprietor as she pulled out a map for us and highlighted the route to the house.

She glanced down at my belly and smiled. "How far along are you?"

I couldn't stop the huge grin from spreading across my face. "Six months."

"You're glowing, mija."

"Thank-you," I replied. "We are very, very happy."

The house was gorgeous. Luxurious. It was designed in the Pueblo Revival Style, and had a comfortable, elegant, southwestern flare. There were only 3 bedrooms, but, being 2400 square feet, the home was still big enough to provide plenty of privacy. There were kiva fireplaces in both the living room and the master bedroom, an outdoor pool (but, being October, it was too cold out to use it), a balcony overlooking mountain views, a full kitchen, an outdoor grill, washer/dryer, wireless internet - everything we could have possibly wanted. Just outside there were hiking and bike trails.

It was about 3 ½ miles from the town plaza, where all of the attractions are.

We got in at about 4 pm. The kids picked out their rooms and unpacked. Ed and I did the same.

"How are you feeling? It's been a long day, already."

He and I were standing, facing each other. He had his hands on each side of my baby bump, holding it almost protectively.

Sometimes it still just hits me...how incredibly wonderful a person he is and how thankful I am to have him in my life. That was one of those times.

I leaned into him over my belly, holding his face with my hands and gently kissing him on the mouth. "I'm wonderful. I'm so happy right now. I'm in my favorite place with my favorite people."

He smiled at me and returned my kiss.

"But you meant if I felt tired."

He nodded.

"I'm a little tired. Do you think it's too late for me to take a nap?"

"No. We had a late lunch, so we can have a late dinner. Why don't you rest for an hour or so? Maybe the kids and I will go for a walk. It's beautiful out there."

"OK, thank-you," I nodded. "But be sure I'm up by 6, OK?"

"Yes, love." He tapped my nose with his own, and then kissed me again.