Chapter 9: The Eye of the Storm

The days were becoming shorter, and for once I did notice that because I never seemed to have enough time with him. During those days, I'd rush to get my work done, or hurry to get what Grandpa needed from the store, then I'd run to his place to hang out before I had to be back home for the evening. There never seemed to be enough time in the day to do everything I wanted to do.

On one particularly beautiful fall day, he asked me to come with him for a hike up on Mother's Hill under the guise that we were going to look for wild herbs. Sounded cool to me, so I hurried around the Yodel Ranch and yelled goodbye to Grandpa as he and Hana dozed off on the front porch.

"Hey can I put my camera in your ruck sack... why did you bring a ruck sack anyway?" I asked him once the conversation had died down and I had become more observant. The trees were blazing with color for miles and miles around us. It was almost too much to take in.

"It's a long way up and we might get hungry, so I brought some stuff," he said as he took my camera and gingerly placed it in his pack. Seemed like a reasonable response, so I didn't question him any further. Instead, I let my mind wander back to the infinite array of colors that surrounded me.

As we made our way up the mountain path, we heard people talking. In the distance, I could see Mary, one of the few girls in town who I got along with, and her family. I was still nervous about being seen with Jack one-on-one and I wasn't sure what to make of our current situation. Were we dating? Had we just kissed? I was too afraid to ask.

"Jack! May! Wow, its great to see youngsters out here in nature! Too often, your generation likes to stay inside, but everyone can benefit from getting out and enjoying nature!" exclaimed Basil, Mary's father and a renowned botanist. He looked over to his wife and daughter for confirmation, and they both nodded their head in silent agreement.

"So what are you two doing out?" asked Anna, Mary's mother, in a tone that alerted me that whatever I said would be transmitted to the rest of the town via her gossip posse i.e. Sasha and Manna.

"We are looking for wild grass and herbs," I answered quickly as to dispel any ideas she may have been conjuring up. She smiled pleasantly at my response though. I noticed that her face was very pretty, and I realized Mary looked a lot like her mom.

"Oh! How wonderful! In the autumn you can find just about any strain of wild grass up here, from green to red to blue, but some are poisonous so watch how you handle them! If you want, I can help you and -"

Mary giggled softly and informed her father that he had helped us enough, and that if we had any questions we'd seek his assistance. I caught a look in her eyes when she said that, something that made me feel like she knew about Jack and I and that she approved. It was just a suspicion though. Either way, I liked Mary.

Still highly concerned with finding wild herbs on my own, it took me a while to realize that Jack had been scoping out the area for something else. When I asked, he said he was looking for a good place to sit. I was confused; a place to sit? I wasn't even tired, and the hike wasn't that long, so why would we be looking for a place to sit?

"Hmmm," I thought out-loud as we ascended to the flat right before the peak of Mother's Hill, "these are all magic red flowers, I don't think we'll find any herbs growing out in the open with all these flowers." He started to chuckle. I turned to look at him as he stood amongst the endless sea of orange and red flowers, the rolling hills fading infinitely behind him. I'll always remember that image.

"Would you be disappointed if I said that's not why we came up here?"

I felt a rush of warmth to my cheeks. Though his plan was extremely sweet, I felt a little embarrassed that I had fallen for it so easily and wondered if that made him think less of me.

"I uhm...no... no, I'm not disappointed," I finally blurted out, "I just feel silly for not realizing it sooner!" He smiled, pleased that he had outwitted me (for once).

"I'm glad you didn't though, it would have ruined it," he said as he started to unpack his rucksack that was filled with way more than 'snacks.' There were all kinds of things; food, a blanket, a little battery-powered lantern, and a bottle of what looked like wine. I just stood there taking it all in, not sure of how to express my gratitude because it was one of the most thoughtful things anyone had ever done for me. And when I thought of all the other things he had already done for me, like the birthday party, I felt myself becoming even more choked up.

"What's wrong?" he asked as we sat on the blanket, a cool breeze causing the field of flowers to move like waves around us. It was as if we were on a boat floating in the middle of a vast, crimson sea and I was starting to feel a little sea-sick.

"Nothing!" I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself by looking out at the scenery, "...I'm just...really happy." I looked back to find him smiling at me, that forever gentle and infinitely understanding smile, and I could feel myself smiling back.

"If you're happy, I'm happy."

It was such a simple thing to say. And to this day, it is the most romantic thing anyone has ever said to me.

It didn't seem like much time had passed at all, but before I knew it we had eaten all the food, taken a few pictures, and talked about everything from college to our families to site-seeing to farming. So many things. I was sad once I noticed that the sun had started its decent behind the mountain peak, casting much of our little ocean in shadow, and soon, in darkness. He turned on the lantern which emitted a soft glow upwards onto his face. Oh, how handsome he was. Truly. And whatever it was that made him beautiful was beyond his facial features and came from somewhere deeper.

"So, I brought white wine because neither of us like red wine," he said, remembering a moment between us that seemed so long ago, "you don't have to drink any, but I thought you might like to try it."

As he poured the wine into a mug that wasn't made for wine drinking, I made my way over to his side of the blanket and curled up next to him. It had started to get much cooler, and the mountain air was already cool to begin with. I tried the white wine and decided it wasn't bad at all, so I finished my glass quite quickly. With a bit of liquid courage, I nuzzled my head under his arm and onto his chest then pushed him down onto the blanket. I laughed softly as I laid on his chest, looking down at him as he smiled up at me.

"I have to keep reminding myself that I'm not dreaming," I proclaimed as his hands rested on my lower back. We stayed like that for a moment, then his hands moved up my back as he brought my lips down to meet his. We couldn't just kiss and come up for air though, we always dove so deep and kept pulling the other one farther and farther down. Our hands couldn't stop moving, and every touch seemed electrifying as I felt the goosebumps rising on my skin. I bit his lower lip, somewhat breaking the moment as I giggled. Suddenly, he scooped me up and held me as he laid me back down on the blanket.

"Oohh, so you like a little bit of biting?" I teased, trying to subdue the butterflies in my stomach from him being on top of me. He looked down at me, his expression was soft and somewhat serious.

"May, I... I don't want to do anything you don't want to do. I just want to make sure you know that," he stumbled over his words, and I could tell he was a little nervous. I reached up and pulled him down by the neck and kissed him again.

"I don't give it up on the first date, Jack, what kind of girl do you think I am?" He laughed, his cheeks a warmer shade than they usually were.

"I didn't mean that I just, I just wanted to say it now... and we don't have to keep this a secret, and I don't care what any one says about it. But it might be a little harder for you than me, so whatever you want to do is fine by me."

He laid down next to me and I rested my head on his shoulder as we watched the sky fade away. We talked about us, about how it really wasn't so strange that we'd fall for each other and how he wasn't that much older than me. I asked him if he thought I was immature, and he told me I was more mature than any girl he'd been close to before. It was hard for me to think that I could be more mature than Karen! He described their relationship, and told me how their time was filled with petty fights and unnecessary drama. I refrained from talking about Stu, I didn't want to explain everything that had happened between us.

"You're my closest friend. You have been for a long time, as silly as that sounds." He pulled me close to his chest.

"I've felt that way too. You're the only person I can talk to openly, and don't have to worry that I've offended them."

"Yeah, because when you offend me I tell you," I propped my head up on my arm so that I could look at him while I talked, "I've always been kind sad though that I've never had a girl friend. You know, someone to talk about boys with or paint your finger nails or...whatever girls do! That's one of the reasons I really want to go to college."

"What would you study?" he asked, genuinely curious. I looked up in thought.

"Hmm, I dunno. I've thought about some type of animal science but I've studied animals my whole life...maybe fashion design or advertising, something fun and different than what I've done before."

"If you study somewhere in the city, there will be so many options that you won't even know where to begin. That's how I felt." I could feel my face lighting up as I imagined the city lights and the hustle and bustle of so many different kinds of people.

"Oh tell me about it! I want to travel too, not just from Mineral Town to the city, but to other countries! I want to see Paris and Tokyo and Dubai... and wherever else there is! I'm sure the city alone would keep me entertained though." He smiled as I talked on and on.

"You should do all of those things."

"I will," I declared confidently, then I added, "but not any time soon."

"Why?"

"...because I can't leave Grandpa alone. And as much as I want to go, I want to be with him more. I feel bad because what if he lives for a really long time? Like until he's 100? I'll be almost 40 then!" he laughed at my faux-hysteria, "I want him to live for a long time, but I also want to experience things and get out of Mineral Town."

"You think if you left, you'd want to come back?" I didn't even have to think about my answer.

"I'd come back."