It really wasn't too bad. In fact, it was pretty hilarious. Or we thought so, anyhow. People seemed to feel sorry for us. We felt a teeny bit sorry for ourselves as well, but most of the time, we were too busy busting a gut to notice. We, would be Kamela and I. Where, would be South Carolina/North Carolina. Problem, would be the presence of lice on Kamela's head. Other problems; I had just spent the last few days with her, riding in the car, sitting on peoples couches, exchanging shoulder rubs necessary from hours in the car and at the table. Other problems; the fact of spending every night in a different house. Multipule houses per day. Multiple cars per week. Where did she get them? How far back did she need to call, to give people a heads up? That'd give 'em something to scratch about! A 'feel sorry for Kamela' fact; this was 2nd week for her to be a part of the NC/SC staff. First impressions, ya know?
So, we were in Ocean Isle, NC on Tue. morning. After breakfast, the folks left for work; cleaning a beach house. K & I were planning on spending a few hours at the beach that morning. As soon as their car disappeared, K asked me to check her head. It had been itching. I sorta thought I saw some little white things hopping around, but prefered to doubt myself. We concluded that a professional check would be peace of mind. CVS Minute Clinic. Yep, positive. A wrinkle in this situation; we had stayed the night with this couple in their their brother's beach home. We'd had supper the night before at their personal home. We'd ridden to the beach the night before in their car. Thus, they got a triple whammy of possible lice infestation. Not to mention their heads.
While Kamela shopped CVS for delousing shampoo, furninture spray, big bags, little bags, gloves, combs, shower caps, an untainted shirt, etc, I started stripping beds, bagging pillows... When she got home, we indulged ourselves with a few "where should we begin" moments and then decided to do the hair treatment first. What to wear? Should've we done laundry first? Where to sit? I used the couple's shower and Kamela used the main bathroom. We put our clothes in plastic bags. As I was putting on the 1st step (a gel that you rub in, leave for 10 minutes, no longer, and rinse out), I heard knocking at the front door. Mr. and Mrs. yelling, hello?? I froze, and Kamela no doubt did too. They entered, and I could hear them surmising. Where are they? Their stuff is still here. What IS all this stuff? Are they at the beach? No, their car is here. Mr. finally told Mrs., "just go back there, see if they're okay." I decided I'd best appear. Whipped open my plastic bag, whipped on my 'dirty' clothes, left my hair in it's gunky state, and appeared. Oh! Hi! The dialogue:
Mr. & Mrs.: Is everything okay?
Kayla: Kamela has lice. (nice and clear, aye?)
Mr. & Mrs.: What? Oo. They jumped a bit. Snuck in an itch. And another.
I shared my newfound knowledge on how they needed to clean their house, car, head, and then excused myself to wash off the stuff that was burning up my scalp.
Little did I know what happened next! As they stood in the kitchen, scratching their heads, Kamela finished her shower. Thinking that the the folks had gone and I was in the kitchen, she wrapped herself in a beach towel (no skirt available) and put on the hoody she'd picked up at CVS.
Kamela: Appearing around the corner, she called out to the kitchen, "did we have company?" Take note that without her glasses, she's rather blind.
Mr. & Mrs: Ahh, emm,...
On that note, they went on their way. Quite willingly, we do suppose. We were aware of the fact that we'd met them less than 24 hours ago. They were very gracious and sufficiently grossed out.
Then came the cleaning. All clothes, sheets, towels, hair stuff, suitcases, shoes, rugs, floors, linens, mattresses, couches... All things washed in HOT water, dried on HIGH heat. Where to put the stuff that was now clean? How often to change clothes? Are we dirtying everthing we touch? Throw away toothbrushes, hairbands, hair pins and clips that would disinegrate in bleach... Comb thru hair. Piece by piece. All the way down each 4 ft strand. I comb Kamela's. Kamela combs mine. The couple comes twice more to check on us. They wonder if we've eaten. Yogurt. Kamela comments on feeling pretty warm on the front porch as I'm combing thru her hair. They suggest she take her sweatshirt off! haha! Little do they know! Wash, dry, wash, dry, sort, spray, clean, vacuum, repeat. Comb. Comb. Comb. Comb. Comb. Comb. Vacuum car. Spray car. Bag seats of car.
Late afternoon arrived. I was rather aware that there was a special meeting schedule for 7pm. It was over an hour away and I had to speak. It had been decided by the overseer that Kamela would stay home. She would take me 15 minutes north to meet the couple in the McD's parking lot. We left in time for me to pick up a toothbrush, toothpaste & deodorant. I brushed my teeth in the car and as I asked K to pull over so I could spit, her phone rang. We were already hooting at my highway show, so K's voice was a bit wavery when she answered. It was the overseer, telling K that she should come after all! Yikes! Too late to turn around and get proper clothes, nylons, a bible, shoes, a semblance of a hairdo! (think gunked up, big time) Now she was the one who needed deodorant! We pulled into McD's and agreed to follow the couple, with the exception that we'd need to make a stop or two. Mr. was trying to figure out why we needed to stop somewhere that had more than toothpaste. Kamela started to explain, and he backed up, held up his hands, said, "whoa, don't tell me everything! You need toothpaste!" hahaha Walgreens for toiletries and granola bars. Dollar General for shoes and a scarf! Kamela drove, dressed, brushed teeth, while I unclipped/unboxed her shoes, scarf. We chowed our granola bars, while trying to realize there a meeting was coming up very quickly.
The workers, aware as they were of our present situations, seemed very intrigued with all that was involved. Vaughn kindly called all of the involved friends and went throught the spiel of how to clean and what to look for. It was planned for us to remain at the beach house for another night and the move on the next day. The two of us were to be at another special meeting on Wed night.
Wed we were very proud of ourselves for buttoning everything up. We felt cleaner than we had felt in what seemed like a very long time. Yes, we know, it'd only been two days. We went to the Wed meeting. And got lice again! NO!! We knew we had gotten them before we left, so we tried to sit very gingerly in the car. We pulled into the first parking lot available: Walmart. It was dark, thank goodness. Mayo on our head, shower caps on, upholstery spray on every car surface, shoes, clothes, arms, legs. Cancer coming up! Wipe mayo-y hands on Kamela's skirt. Nod politely to the police officer and other onlookers who were feeling a bit wondersome at our spectacle. Drive 3 hours to destination. Stop for Starbucks along the way. Hide head behind car visor. Mayo dripping down neck. Into eyes. Ask for extra napkins, in case a potty break is needed. No public restrooms for us! Arrive to the friend's home in the wee hours of the morning. They are waiting with all the supplies neccesary. We knew exactly what to tell them! Seeing as we were leaving the trunk, therefore our belongings, tightly shut, we were beneficiaries of loaned pjs, toothbrushes, etc. Washed hair with Dawn soap. Washed hair with Dove. Put jel in hair. Wash jel out. Wash with lice shampoo. Comb each others hair. Do laundry. Go to bed a few hours later. Two daysof exile later, declare ourselves lice free! Try to return to the mindset of special meetings.
If one ever finds themselves lousy, enlist the presence of Kamela. She has an excellent sense of humor and her coping ability is very commendable. A wonderful person all around!
this is hilarious. how can you be smiling?! it's like my worst nightmare!
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