Bedtime Stories:
Written for the OCOH November Challenge
By Rachel
"And they lived happily ever after." Abby said as she closed the book and looked down at the small dark haired girl curled up on her. The child's eyes were heavy and she was fighting sleep.
"Tell me another one mommy." The little one said.
"What one would you like me to read?" Abby asked her daughter, one more story surely wouldn't hurt.
"The one about you and daddy," the little voice replied back.
Abby smiled now, "that's one of your favorites isn't it."
The child nodded back, "yes. Will you tell it to me mommy please." The youngster drew the word please out long while batting her heavy eyes.
"Of course I will darling." She said as she stroked her daughter's head, her attempt to get her to close her eyes and drop the rest of the way into sleep. She felt Martina curl up more against her as Abby tucked the blanket more around her daughter.
Abby's voice softened up as she started to retell the story for her daughter who was always intrigued by the story and could never be told it too many times. Her daughter snuggled up under her favorite baby blanket, one that she had started to outgrow almost too tall now to fit underneath it. Her blue flannel pajama's almost matched that faded well loved and treasured blanket.
"Once upon a time," Abby started in.
"Abby get a move on it we are going to be late." Carter called down the hallway.
"I'm almost ready!" She leaned out of the bathroom to answer him, "I don't see why you are in such a rush."
"I don't want to be late!"
"I don't want to be late." Abby mimicked back now as she started to walk down the hall, "alright already let's go."
"Get your coat, its cold."
"Yes mother." Abby smarted back. "I don't see why you can't tell me where we are going on our only day off."
"Because that would just take all the fun out of," Carter answered as they headed outside into the chill of the autumn air. "Come on you'll have fun I promise."
"Yeah I'll believe that when I see it." Abby said as they hurried to the jeep. "I'm freezing turn the heat on in this thing."
"It's on. Just give it a minute to warm up." Carter said, the jeep started as he checked and pulled out into traffic.
She just looked over at him and rolled her eyes at him. "Yeah well what can I say I am impatient when I can see my breath in front of my face that's all."
They drove out of town, leaving the city farther and farther behind. Nothing now but harvested corn fields could be seen out the window. She fidgeted in the seat now wondering where in the world Carter was taking her. He had to have something up his sleeve yet she didn't know what it could be.
"How much longer are we going to be driving here in the boondocks?" Abby asked glancing over at him.
"Almost there." That was the calm collected response that he gave to her.
"Come on Carter what are we doing?" She pestered now.
"Something that I know you haven't done."
"That really narrows it down Carter." Abby said, "Skydiving, motor-cross, I've been backpacking and did I tell you I hated it. We're not camping are we?"
"No we are not camping, no we are not going backpacking, no we are not doing motor-cross and no we are not skydiving." He said as he pulled off the highway onto an old dirt road.
"Carter," Abby said her tone letting him know that she was really done guessing and that she didn't want to play this game with him anymore. "Come on where are we going?"
"We are here." He said as he parked the jeep in front of an older two story farm house.
"Here?" Abby said in disbelief, "what are we doing here?"
"You are about to find out."
"Carter we are at a farm, in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of November." Abby said as she watched him get out of the car and decided best to follow now.
Abby stop telling the story for just a moment now as she looked down her daughter's eyes still fighting sleep as if she desperately wanted to hear the story.
"Keep going mommy." Came a tiny tired voice from next to her. And the sound of her voice was all the prompting Abby needed to keep going.
"Your daddy took us horseback riding that day." Abby said as she started telling the story once more.
Carter and Abby had ridden out over the frost covered fields. Her smile was there on her face even though she was terrified. There was no one around them and the day had been beautiful.
Carter pulled his horse to a stop at the top of a small ridge over looking the valley below them. The fall leaves changing colors made the hillside beautifully breathtaking. As Abby stopped next to him she couldn't help but be amazed by the site. She watched as Carter climbed off his horse and was over next to hers. Before she could get down he had taken her hand into his.
"Abby, I have loved you from the moment I first saw you. You have become my best friend and my lover." He said. She could tell from his voice that he was nervous and she could feel his hand tremble in hers. "The beauty here is only surpasses by the beauty that I see sitting on the horse, you are, in my eyes the only woman for me, you make me laugh, you make me smile, you are the better part of me. I come before you today, to ask you if you would do me the honor of becoming my wife. If I know anything today, it's that you are the woman that I want to spend the rest of my life with, it's you that I want to have the privilege of calling my wife."
Abby looked down at him with a tear in her eye now that was the sweetest thing that anyone had ever said to her and she knew in her heart of hearts that she felt the same way about it. As Abby got ready to give him her answers, she felt something wet hit her nose, "yes, I will. I will." Her smile was bright and beaming showing just how happy she really was.
Carter lifted her down off the horse and started to spin her around holding onto her tightly as the first snowfall of the season began to come down lightly all around them.
"Your daddy and I were married in that very spot the following June, with all our friends and family there." Abby said as she gently rubbed her daughter's back. "The only day that was happier than that one for us." She paused to kiss the now sleeping child's forehead, "was the day that you came into our lives."
Abby picked up Martina now from the spot that she had been sleeping and carried her back to the bedroom. "Sleep well." She said as she kissed her forehead again. As Abby moved to leave the room she glanced up to see John standing there in the doorway. He crossed over kissing his daughter good night before reaching up and turning on the small string of Christmas lights that was in Martina's room. The three of them were living that fairy tale and working on building the perfect happily ever after.