I Would Wait
She had worried about being found out from the moment he had kissed her.
"What if they catch us, Sam? What if they already know? It's…it's against the law, we can't do this…"
"If love is against the law, then what kind of law is it anyway?"
"…What if, Sam? What if?"
"What if? You can't live in the 'what if'. It's no way to live."
"Sam…just tell me something good, tell me something that lets me sleep at night."
"Alright, Ms. Kate, I'll tell you this. If someone were to ever find out…no matter what they were to do, just know that I would wait a thousand lifetimes to love you. If something were to happen, just know that things won't always be like this. Someday, we will be together again, and no one will say a word against it."
"Oh, Sam…"
It was the first field trip Caitlin Barrette had ever taken a class on. She had only been teaching for two years, and this was the first time their small little school district was able to come up with enough money to send the kids anywhere.
They had let the kids vote on where they wanted to go, and, very surprisingly, they had wound up voting on the history museum in Houston, about an hour away from their small country town. She figured they had probably decided on the museum mostly because it was the only trip that actually took place in the big city, and it was probably the only chance the mostly farm kids would ever get to see the city.
The kids had been all excited about it since they had first announced the trip, and now, on the day of, they were more excited than ever. None of the kids had stopped talking since they had left the school, and even Caitlin found herself feeling a little excited.
She wasn't sure why, but she had the feeling that something big was going to happen to her today, bigger than anything she had ever imagined. She liked to think that perhaps she was finally going to fulfill her destiny, whatever it might be. The thought sounded corny, even to her. But there was something to the feeling, something she couldn't just shake off…
Samuel Green did not want to go into Houston. It was obviously better to go in during the middle of the week, because it would be less crowded and hectic, but he liked going on the weekends so much better. If he went during the weekend, he could get into the history museum for a discounted price. It cost more money during the week, though. And he couldn't afford to pay.
And he really loved the history museum. Seeing it was always the highlight of his day. It was such a contrast to the farm back home, so bright and clean and full of such wonderful things. His farm was nothing like that.
More than anything, he dreamed of getting a job in the museum. He would show the tourists and school kids around the museum, and they'd be fascinated by every word he said. He would tell them who had done what and when and why, and they would all love it. But the museum wouldn't hire you unless you had gone to college. He should know. He'd applied three times.
But right now, he couldn't afford to go to college. He could barely even afford to live off the money he made selling the onions he grew on his farm. It wasn't that he didn't love growing his onions, but he knew that he just couldn't support himself, or the family he dreamed of one day having, on growing onions.
Today, however, he had to put his thoughts and plans about college aside. He had to go to market and sell his onions. Even though it was a week day. And maybe…maybe he could spend a little extra and go to the museum. Maybe. He had a good feeling that somehow, today, everything was going to work out alright.
"It's a great day for you to be visiting the museum," the tour guide told Miss. Barrette and her class. "We have a brand new exhibit that's just opening today! It's all about the local legends of Houston and the surrounding towns. It's very exciting for us here at the museum."
One small child raised her hand. "Is our town in the exhibit?" she asked.
"Of course. In fact, one of the most interesting legends comes from your little town," the tour guide said. "If you'll follow me, I'll show you."
The new exhibit room was fairly empty. Of people, at least. It was full of plaques and informational boards and displays about the legends and folklore of all the surrounding towns. The only people Caitlin could see, though, were a small family of tourists taking a picture in front of a poster, and a tall black man looking at one of the display cases.
"It's this display, right here. If you'll all gather around, I'll tell you the story," the tour guide said, smiling. The little class and Caitlin all huddled around for a closer look. Meanwhile, the man Caitlin had noticed happened to glance over, and noticing the group huddled around the case in front of the tour guide, wandered over to hear what the tour guide had to say.
"It was a very long time ago. There was once a large lake near the edge of your town, as hard as that is to believe, and it was called Green Lake. The town was owned mostly by the Walker family, but they are not at the center of this legend. Quite the opposite, in fact…"
"And so Kissin' Kate Barlow died there that day by Sam's old boat. Old Trout Walker never did find that treasure, but as far as we know, his children, and his children's children are still out there…looking for the treasure they'll never find," the tour guide finished. Every single child stood spellbound by the tale, but no one was more spellbound than Caitlin herself.
She would never admit it, even to herself, but she found herself wondering at the strange parallels between her own life, and the life of Kate Barlow. Meanwhile, closer than she knew, Samuel found himself drawing the same conclusion between himself and Sam the Onion Man.
Both thought it was odd, but then they happened to meet each other's eyes and it suddenly all clicked. Every choice they had ever made…set up for this moment when they would meet again. And as Caitlin and Samuel approached each other, they both knew this made sense, this was right.
And when their lips finally met again, and all of the kids went ooh, and the tour guide gasped, a few words echoed through their heads.
I would wait a thousand lifetimes to love you. Someday, we will be together again, and no one will ever say a word against it.
And they knew that this promise had finally been fulfilled.
….And from that day on, the tour guide's story was just a little bit different.