Up, Up, And Away
Greg Saunders and Mari McCabe had been dating for several months when Greg, out of the blue, clear sky, decided to surprise Mari by asking her to take a trip with him. He wouldn't tell her where to, only that it was in his home state of Wyoming.
Being someone who liked surprises and was not afraid of anything, Mari had agreed to the trip. Now, only one week later, the two of them were driving through the mountains of Wyoming in Greg's beat up old Chevy truck, his motorcycle safely loaded in the truck's bed with a tarp over it.
"Give me a hint," Mari said from the passenger seat. With only few miles left to go the anticipation had finally gotten the better of her and she couldn't wait anymore.
"I ain't gonna spoil it now when we're so close," said Greg with a smile. "'Sides, you'll know exactly where we're going, I reckon, once we get over that next hill." He pointed ahead about half a mile to where the road suddenly sloped upward.
"Fine, fine," said Mari. She turned her attention to the beautiful scenery outside her window. Idly playing with the totem necklace she always wore around her neck as she watched the trees pass by.
After a few minutes Greg finally said, "Here we go. Prepare to think I'm great."
"Oh, I'm prepared for anything," said Mari, looking ahead as they reached the top of the hill. On the other side there were at least fifty hot air balloons sitting in the wide prairie down below them. They were all shapes and colors. Dotting the landscape like huge ice cream sprinkles.
"Well, you always said you wanted to ride in a hot air balloon," said Greg.
"Oh my god," Mari yelled with joy. "This is the best trip ever!"
"And it's the biggest balloon festival Wyoming has ever had too," Greg added.
Mari leaned over and hugged her boyfriend, nearly knocking his brown cowboy hat off his head.
"Hey now, girl, don't make me crash the truck before we get a chance to get in one of those bad boys," Greg said, playfully.
Mari sat back in her own seat, but wiggled around in it like an excited child.
"I've never seen you act like this," said Greg, bemused. "Usually you're so... I don't know, regal."
"Well, that was before balloons were involved," said Mari.
"You can actually fly," said Greg. "Sometimes."
"This is totally different. You wouldn't understand," said Mari.
"Apparently not," said Greg, focusing back on the road as they headed down towards the festival.
To Be Continued