Yeay, I hit 225 pages. Yippee for multiples-of-25-celebration chapters!
Disclaimer: I don't own the character of Sammy Valdez or the general outline that served as base for this story.
June 5th 1951
"Sammy Valdez, don't you dare," Carmen scolded smacking his hand.
"Ouch," he complained, drawing his hand back.
"You asked for it. I told you not to touch that map. This is a surprise," Carmen said. Sammy went back to sulking in his seat.
"Oooh," Carmen said. "Someone's ain't used to not be drivin'."
"To be honest I'm just not used to you hijacking my truck. Where did you even get the keys?"
"Back pocket Valdez. You always keep your keys in your back pocket," Carmen said.
She took a right on the lonely road they were on. "We're nearly there. Half an hour, give or take. Traffic was good."
Carmen had conspired with Rodrigue on this one, and his roommate had woken him up early in the morning, thrown him out of bed and told him to get dressed because he had plans. Sammy was too tired to argue and when he'd popped into the living room, Carmen was waiting, playing with his pick-up's keys. Here they were about two hours later.
The fields started to get fenced off, and then horses were dotting the field. They were getting closer and closer to a big barn and a farm house.
"No way..." Sammy said.
"No way what?" Carmen said looking straight ahead. She was smiling though.
She parked the car, they hopped out, and Carmen had a word with a man named Felipe- her Uncle Felipe as a matter of fact. He welcomed them to the ranch, which also offered riding courses to people around Austin on weekdays and Saturdays.
"Carmen tells me you used to be a stable boy," Felipe said. "Well, you two aught to be just fine around the property. Ya'all get free range."
Sammy turned towards Carmen, eyes wide. She was smiling broadly, the popping red lips splitting her face.
"And so who's the best for keepin' the surprise?" Carmen said lifting her hands up. "Let me answer that. Soy yo."
Sammy agreed with her with a kiss.
There were seven horses on the property. Poppy, Jack, Charlie, Ruby, Lady, Gizmo and Prince. Carmen was used to riding Ruby, and Sammy saddled up Charlie because he looked like his best horse at the New Orleans stable ("his" horse): Whisper. They wandered off on a trail, and then wandered off the trail. Charlie was a breeze to ride. Nice and docile and happy to gallop.
"Slow down there, I don't have quite the touch you do," Carmen called.
Sammy taunted her as she caught up with Ruby, who was an old horse too.
"Let's stop for a while," she suggested.
"Why on earth?" Sammy asked.
"It'd be more obvious if I had that picnic basket instead of my backpack..." Carmen said.
"Not to mention more poetic," Sammy said. "More illustrious. More picturesque. More..."
Sammy's stomach decided to announce its hunger to the world at that moment.
"Your stomach don't seem to mind about poetry much," Carmen said.
"They're very bland and uncultured organs," Sammy said. The promptness of it made Carmen laugh as he dismounted. Sammy helped her dismount Ruby.
"I can get off on my own," she said.
"I know. But this is classy," Sammy said. "C'mon, you took my picnic basket, at least let me get the knight in shining armour thing."
She rolled her eyes and accepted his hand as she climbed down.
They spread a picnic basket and tied the horses' reins to tree branches to make sure that they didn't run away. Carmen really had thought of everything.
"Why did you do all of this?" Sammy said. "I mean, I don't mind but..."
"Can't I do it because I love you?" Carmen said.
"You most certainly could," Sammy said. "But you could also have made me pancakes because you loved me, so really..."
She slid over closer to him.
"I did it because you told me how great your first job was, how you'd even take the horses out. I did it because I think that you get homesick, but you refuse to admit it to anyone because you did so much to get away from New Orleans in the first place." Carmen said. "I think that that's also why you haven't told anyone your birthday, and why you're threatening Steve with a painful death if he does."
"My birthday?" Sammy scoffed. "What does it matter on which day of the year this world was blessed with my presence?"
"What if I was planning on making it a national holiday?" Carmen asked.
"As if you'd endure the paperwork that would be undoubtedly necessary," Sammy said.
"Okay, but here's the real reason I did all of this," Carmen said. "I've decided that your birthday is on June 5th."
"You decided, did you?" Sammy said. "Carma, even my own mother couldn't decide."
"Well you're bein' difficult, so I'm endin' this I-don't-got-a-birthday nonsense right now. Everyone has been made aware that today is your designated birthday, so right when we get back to town we're all going out for supper and you have presents."
Sammy looked at her with a smile. He was thinking about twenty things about her right then. How obstinate she was, how well thought out all of her plans were (as opposed to his 'let's move to Houston and then find a job and a place to stay'), how beautiful she was, how difficult she was, how much he absolutely adored her...
"You are one amazing woman," he said pulling her close and kissing her head.
