The car bounced along the dirty road and the bottles clinked together as they drove into the woods.
"Where are you taking me, Idgie Threadgoode?" Ruth's voice is soft, as if she doesn't want to wake the birds in the trees.
"You'll see. Are you the one who's always telling me 'patience is a virtue'?" Try practicing a little of that now." The moonlight catches Idgie's smirk. Ruth leans back in her seat and watches the blonde's curl bounces as the road gets rougher.
Idgie stops the car and gets out. "What are you doing?" Idgie drags a tree limb from their path and does her best to hurl it into the woods. "You need any help?" Ruth calls from the car. Idgie scowls and manages to get the limb off the road. "You're going to hurt yourself. You need to learn to ask for help."
Idgie shifts the car into gear and guns the engine. "I do just fine," she says and Ruth covers a smirk.
"You are, without a doubt, the most stubborn being on this earth," Ruth says reaching out to tousle Idgie's hair.
"Maybe, but you agreed to come anyway."
"You're right. Sweet Lord help me, I did." Ruth says and then sits forward in her seat as the woods fall back and Idgie steers the car into a clearing. With the trees gone the full moon gives the field the appearance of dusk rather than close to midnight. Idgie pulls the car to the side of the road and switches it off.
She pulls the beer and a picnic basket out of the back seat and walks around to open Ruth's door. "Follow me," she says pulling Ruth from the car by the hand.
Ruth grabs the skirt of her dress in one hand and picks her way over roots and tree branches. Idgie catches her when Ruth starts to trip over a rock that moves under her foot. Ruth hears the sound of lapping water before she sees the lake. The moon bounces off the rippling surface and Idgie turns to see the light play on Ruth's features.
"Well, do you like it?" she asks setting down the basket.
"Idgie, it's beautiful. Of course I like it."
Idgie plunges her hands into the pockets of her pants and grins. "You want to eat or swim first?"
"I didn't bring my bathing suit."
"You don't need a bathing suit. It's midnight, there's no one around for miles. Live a little." Idgie says clapping her hands against Ruth's sides. Ruth looks out at the lake and shakes her head. "Don't tell me you've never been skinny dipping, Ruth Jamison."
Ruth glares at Idgie and raises her chin against the teasing. She stalks past Idgie toward the water, slipping off her shoes. She pulls her dress off over her head in one neat motion, and drops her slip at the water's edge before diving head first into the water.
Idgie can't move her feet or speak. When Ruth's face emerges from the water, smiling and laughing at her Idgie regains her voice. "Wait! That's not fair." She slips her suspenders from her shoulders, hops out of her pants a leg at a time, and gets stuck in her shirt. She has to pause at the shore to unbutton her shirt while Ruth laughs and splashes water toward her. Idgie dives into the water and surfaces next to Ruth.
"You know better than to say never to me."
Idgie nods and rubs her ankle under the water. "So, what do you think?"
"It's very nice, but I hope you have a towel in that basket of yours. This water is freezing." Ruth kisses Idgie on the cheek and starts to leave the water.
"Wait, I just got in. You can't get out yet," Idgie calls. Ruth's body emerges from the water as she nears the shore. The moonlight bounces off her bare skin. "Goddamn," Idgie breathes when Ruth walks out of the water and glances over her shoulder at Idgie, her damp curls falling down her back and stopping just above her waist.
"You coming, or am I going to have to drink this beer myself?" Idgie watches Ruth pull a blanket and a towel from the basket. Ruth sits on the blanket, wraps herself in the towel, and takes a sip of her beer while she watches Idgie wade out of the lake.
"You gonna share?" Idgie says, dripping water from body onto the blanket. Ruth's eyes meander over Idgie's body before taking in Idgie's signature smirk. She holds out the towel with one arm and Idgie sits next to her huddling close. Ruth hands Idgie a beer and smiles.
"You're freezing."
"Somebody took my towel." Idgie reaches for the beer and kisses Ruth's lips as she grabs the bottle. Ruth tastes hoppy and her lips are cold from the beer. Their knees bump as they lean toward each other.
Ruth lies down on her back and Idgie on her side next to her and they do their best to make the towel cover as much of them as they can. "How did you find this lake?" Ruth asks staring up at Idgie and brushing a stray tangle of curls from Idgie's face.
"Well, that's a funny story. You see we used to have this lake near our house. We used to go swimming in it, and fishing it in..."
"I've heard that story. Go on, just once tell me the truth."
Idgie lowers herself off of her elbow and tucks her head onto Ruth shoulder and wraps an arm around Ruth's waist. "Buddy. He brought me here when I was little. I come here sometimes when I want to talk to him."
"You miss him."
"When he brought me here, he told me all about going skinny dipping. Course, I thought that sounded stupid then. Told me I should bring someone special here one day." Ruth turns her head and plants three kisses on the crown of Idgie's head. Her hair smells of earth and the lake. "I promised him I'd never bring anyone here, unless it was someone real special." Ruth places the palms of her hand on Idgie's cheek. Idgie shifts her head so she can see Ruth's eyes as she continues speaking. "I brought you here because...I didn't know how else to let him know I found someone."