Thomas woke to the sun on the side of his face as he lay on his front in bed the next morning. He lazily turned to see why the curtains were open whilst stretching out an arm to Richard's side of the bed only to find that Richard was nowhere to be seen. Still muddled by sleep he looked at the clock on the table. Eight, not too early or too late. He sat up and yawned and tried to see if he could smell breakfast cooking. Nothing. The car, of course, he thought as he reluctantly left the coziness of their bed to search for Richard. He really didn't want to have to walk outside without first getting properly dressed so Thomas searched for him by looking out the windows instead. The car had been put away in one of the outhouses around the back of the cottage when they returned the previous day as it had started raining again. Thomas reckoned he'd see the doors open or the car outside, along with her biggest admirer. But as he looked out one of the other bedroom windows and saw they were still closed he realised he must have drawn the wrong conclusion. He returned to their bedroom and opened the window and leaned out to see if he was in the front garden. That guess was incorrect as well. Thomas looked out over the lake and the fields covering the hills. The sun rose a bit later here due to the eastern horizon being mainly hills, and them being down in the valley so despite the hour, the sun had only just fully peaked above the horizon. It obscured his view a bit and so he held up his hand to shield the light from his eyes. It was then that he noticed a few splashes a little way off shore in the lake. The lake was calm, the winds and rain from the previous day had made way for blue skies, except for these splashes. Who would be mad enough to want to swim in those waters? Thomas thought as he left the window and returned with the binoculars. "Richard?" he said to himself as he focused on the person in the water. "Of course. You would be mad enough to go for a cold swim in the morning." He watched a bit longer. Richard seemed to be enjoying himself. He would swim out from the shore and lie there on his back floating in the water, and then swim back in, doing the same over again.
A bit later, Thomas left the cottage and walked down the narrow track that would lead to a little lakeside beach under the trees as he guessed this was where Richard would be. He had only walked a few hundred yards down the path when he reached the little beach. It was small. Probably only a couple of cars in width and shaded by several trees, the path continuing on past the beach and along the lake shoreline. He jumped down onto the beach, the gravel crunching underneath his shoes, meaning he wasn't very quiet with his arrival. Before he had left, he had grabbed a towel from the bathroom, thinking Richard would need one when he inevitably realises how cold it actually is once being in that water for however long it had been. Richard hadn't seen him yet, he was still doing the equivalent of sunbathing on the surface of the lake and Thomas, who was standing with the towel over his arm like a well trained servant (well he was so it was habit), decided to quit waiting like a servant and dropped the towel down on the beach below a tree, and sat down next to it in the shade.
He had no idea how long he had been there sitting under the tree. The fact that the shadows hadn't changed much told him that, logically, he had not been there long. However, his stomach had rumbled now for the third time and he was getting very tempted to return and make breakfast, leaving Richard to his swimming. Thomas noticed how Richard had neatly folded up his clothes and placed them in the sun on the opposite side of the beach to where he was sitting. He smiled as he thought how organised Richard was, how he even placed them in the sun so they would be warmer when he put them on again. No towel though, got you there, Thomas thought. He noticed something else though that was of more interest with regard to the clothes. It wasn't just his shirt that was there. It was everything. Thomas smiled to himself and hence decided that breakfast could wait, and that he must stick around for when Richard emerged from the lake...
Thomas stayed quiet as Richard finished his swim and left the cold waters of the lake, emerging from its waters like some sort of ancient Greek sea God revealing, well, everything. He is not shy is he? Richard hadn't seen him still, probably expecting his partner to still be in bed. Thomas was hitting in the shade, behind the glare of the morning sun and he had a perfect view. Richard glistened with water as drops of it ran down his back and off his hair that was a darker shade of brown now. Thomas was now very happy that he had stayed after all. He hoped that no one would be venturing along the path right now though, as it would ruin the moment entirely. He doesn't even look cold. Richard was getting changed from bottom up now, but stopped still with his back to Thomas, as if he sensed that he was not alone. Thomas thought about making his presence known. Don't want to worry him. It seemed though that Richard beat him too it. "Thomas?" he asked, without turning around. Thomas could imagine that he was smiling.
"Good morning," Thomas said simply, whilst getting up, stretching his legs as they had grown a bit stiff after sitting in the same position for a while. "Saw you fancied a morning swim from the bedroom window. Thought you could use this," he said holding up the towel.
"You've been here a while then?" Richard asked as Thomas walked over to him.
"Yep."
Richard grinned. "You saw me?"
"Yes. All of you," Thomas said biting his lip in amusement and satisfaction. "If I knew I would have been down here earlier."
"Didn't want to wake you," Richard said as he dried off his chest and his back. "You looked peaceful. Plus, you would have told me the water was too cold for swimming."
"You would have gone anyway. You're stubborn," Thomas said. "Although, I would have said that. When I first saw someone in the lake I thought whoever it was had lost their mind."
"Cold swims are bracing, and refreshing in their own way," Richard said from underneath the towel as he dried the worst of the water off his hair. When he pulled the towel away his hair was uncharacteristically messy, which Thomas privately decided he liked a lot. "Besides, last full day today. Thought I better make every moment count."
"You are right," Thomas said handing Richard his shirt. "I did wake up today with a craving and it gave me an idea that I've been thinking about whilst waiting for you."
"Oh?"
"Fish and chips."
Richard laughed, "That's all? Okay then, well where do you suggest we eat them?"
"Fishing village a few miles along the coast from from here. We could walk there, eat there and then come back here early afternoon before driving to go somewhere else. Two days worth of trips combined in one," Thomas suggested.
Richard nodded. "That is ideal then. We will have to get fuel for the Aston on our way to wherever we go in the afternoon though."
"First thought is with her again," Thomas said with a grin.
"You're not jealous?"
"No, not after what I've just witnessed," Thomas said as they left the beach together and headed back to the cottage for a late breakfast.
...
By mid-morning they had left the cottage and the beach of Loe Bar behind them as they walked along the coast via a single track road that ran parallel to the coastline. The track was actually the third driveway to Penrose Manor and Estate, and it provided stunning views of the sea and the coast in both directions, stretching on for miles. The sea was calm, and crystal blue in colour, a gentle breeze blowing inland, enough to counteract the heat from the sun that was still rising in the sky as it approached its highest point at midday. The view behind them was made up of a large majority of the west coastline of the Lizard peninsula and as the weather was so fine and the visibility perfect, they could see the cliffs they had walked the previous day when it had rained. Ahead of them the coast stretched on for miles before curving around at an angle and heading out into the Atlantic Ocean to create the widemouthed 'Mounts Bay', the town of Penzance just visible under the glare of the sun on the water. Richard noticed Thomas hadn't said much as they had been walking. He himself was fine with walking in comfortable silence, but couldn't help but be a little concerned or curious as to what was going on in Thomas's mind. "You okay?" he asked as they walked, an expanse of cropped grass, most likely the result of the extensive rabbit population on the cliffs, between the road and the cliff edge. Sometimes the road would be close to the edge of the cliff and sometimes further back. The cliffs here did not look the strongest, and Richard had wondered about how in the next few decades, it would be likely that Penrose Manor may lose its coastal driveway. "You haven't said anything for a while."
"I'm fine," Thomas said. "I was just thinking about Larry that's all."
"Oh? Any particular thoughts?" Richard teased. Larry was good looking and Thomas was not blind.
"Not like that! No, I was just thinking about how he went from being in the same class as you and I to being someone who owns multiple estates and townhouses both here and in America. Did he ever tell you how?"
Richard thought a while. "He never said much about his beginnings. He only ever said that he took a huge risk that paid off. I have always assumed that the risk in question was a financial one. He's always changed the subject when I've raised it. I only know that his father was a car mechanic and that Larry had been determined from a young age to be the one who drove the cars instead of just fixing them."
Thomas smiled. "Well that would explain the large collection of luxury motors he has."
"He can fix them himself still you know," Richard added. "Not many rich folk can do that." Thomas decided he liked the sound of pride in Richard's voice. "You like him now then?"
"Yeah, not afraid to admit that. I have to really, considering he is responsible for us being here and seeing all this," Thomas said, gesturing to the sea around them. Richard smiled, glad that Larry had won Thomas over, as he was hoping he'd get to see more of his friend in the future. They were quiet again for a moment as a buzzard screeched overhead, the smaller birds that had been tweeting happily around them, silenced as the predator searched for its prey. The rabbits were nowhere to be seen either.
"He's having an early lunch," Richard said.
"Suppose we should too if we are to continue with our plans this afternoon," Thomas added.
...
They arrived about an hour later at the village of Porthleven. The village was centered around the harbour that housed its large fishing fleet. On their approach the harbour pier was first visible to them, stretching out like a stone arm into the open sea, a small beach to one side, the deeper waters of the outer harbour to the other. On the opposite side of the harbour was a row of cottages and a lifeboat house perched precariously lower down the cliff. On the road above the lifeboat house was a large white building with 'The Ship Inn' written boldly in large writing between two of its windows, not exactly hard to miss. As they walked further into the village, they could see the walls of the inner harbour, that provided extra protection against the south-westerly gales and storms that would hit this little village head on. The inner harbour had a narrow opening in its thick stone walls for boats to pass through, and a crane on the side of the harbour to lift huge wooden planks into the gap in the harbour to seal off the inner harbour completely during a storm. Due to it being late morning, many of the boats belonging to the fishing fleet were absent from the harbour, those that remained proudly showed off their tall wooden masts, sails down. The smell of fish and salt was everywhere in the air, coming from the sea but also from the catches that were landed by boats returning from the sea. They passed another pub and several industrial looking sheds that were on level with the top of the harbour wall that the road ran along. Above them was a terrace of wealthier looking houses, not likely belonging to a poor fisherman and his family.
Richard sat on a section of low wall on the edge of the outer harbour, the sloping surface of a slipway into the sea in front of him as he waited for Thomas to return with their lunch. Thomas had insisted that he should buy it, and Richard wondered if this was to prove to himself that his confidence had not been completely shattered after the incident at the post office a few days before. Since Thomas returned about ten minutes later, happily carrying two packages of cod and chips, smelling hot, salty and delicious, Richard assumed buying them had passed without incident. As they sat the sun glistening on the calm waters; tiny waves breaking at the foot of the slipway in front of them, Richard was reminded by the taste of the fish and chips and the feel of the greasy paper in his hands of one of their earliest meetings where they had sat near the river on the Downton Estate eating the same thing. There was only one thing that was an improvement- the fish tasted better. Nothing wrong with fish and chips back at home, but he reckoned this fish was only caught the day before, and it showed. A satisfying "mmm" from Thomas showed he was thinking the same thing.
...
They had returned the way they came along the cliffs not long after in order to get back to the cottage to collect the car and drive off to their next location. They discussed where they should spend the rest of their day and Thomas gave in to Richards desire to drive the Aston along the perfectly straight road crossing Goonhilly Downs again, despite having driven that way at the beginning of their holiday. Thomas understood that Richard was going to miss the car fondly and anyway, knowing that Richard was in his element was good enough for him. If there was a way to buy the car and have it back in Downton without anyone questioning how they could possibly have bought something so fine, then he would do it for him. Larry would buy him one, Thomas was sure, but blending in was how they were making living together as a couple work and that would not be exactly in the spirit of 'blending in'. They had stopped for fuel at a little garage in a hamlet with an odd sounding name of 'Zoar'. There wasn't much there apart from the garage, where the assistant was only too happy to tend to such a fine example of a motor car. Thomas felt like he was intruding when the man and Richard were having an in depth conversation about the car.
They weren't really certain of their destination so they pulled over on Goonhilly Downs, in a little layby near a pond, and broke out the map. After a bit of discussion (and a little arguing) they decided on exploring the coast around a little village called 'Cadgwith' which was down in a valley right next to the sea. There was only one road into the village. A narrow lane that Richard had to reverse up twice to let others pass. There was not much in the way of cars here, just a horse and cart and then a bit more unusual for a road- a boat. In particular, a boat being pulled on a trailer up the hill by several strong horses. The incline was steep so they had to wait for quite a while until they passed them by. Not wanting to waste more time by encountering too much more local traffic, they parked up at the side of the lane, in a gateway of a field, and continued down the hill into the valley and the cove by foot. Cagwidth was another fishing village, though a lot smaller than Porthleven and without a harbour. The boats were pulled up onto the stony beach of a small cove that faced east, so most of the time would be sheltered from the worst of the weather. They stood on a small headland overlooking the main cove with the boats, and another smaller cove where the beach was a little more sandy. There were no boats on the smaller beach, just a few men sitting mending fishing nets that had been laid out on the sand. Over the larger cove on the opposite cliff was a row of thatched cottages, with a larger and more grand house sitting proudly on the top of the cliff overlooking the sea. They had a few hours here so sat down for a while, the whole setting around them humming with activity of a thriving fishing community, though at the same time it felt peaceful. They walked a little way out of the village and up the cliff towards an interesting feature that had been mentioned in Chris's book. The cliff path was very narrow, barely wide enough for one person, let alone two. And on one side of them was an almost vertical drop of a few hundred feet into a cove that met the sea through an archway across its entrance. The cove was circular, the archway forming a bridge of sorts across from one side to the other. The tide was coming in, and despite it being a calm day, was swirling around the cove below them like oil in a frying pan. That was why it had its name, Thomas thought as he looked down at the formidable sight below. The Devil's Frying Pan. It was once a cave, but the sea's constant battering had caused the roof of the cave to collapse leaving a gaping hole and a beach. Calling it a cove seemed wrong the word cove sounded peaceful, but Thomas wasn't sure what else to call it exactly.
They later climbed back up the steep road and collected the car and drove down slowly into the village, the road winding down the valley sides into the centre of Cadgwith and then abruptly up the other side. They did get some odd looks as they drove a car that was probably worth more than these people make in several years, though not unfriendly looks. This was a close community and they were outsiders, it was easy to expect. "Oh look," Richard said, stopping the car as they climbed up the other side of the valley. He pointed to a sign at the end of a gravel, pothole covered track that led to the thatched cottages they had seen earlier. The sign read 'Freshly prepared homemade Cornish cream teas'. "All this exploring has given me an appetite. What do you say Mr Barrow?"
"Sounds good, Mr Ellis," he said. "You're not planning on driving up there though are you? It would be better to park down here I think."
"And risk another boat coming down the hill and scraping the paintwork, absolutely not! She can manage it can't you?" he said. Richard didn't notice but Thomas rolled his eyes in amusement. Oh god, he is now talking to the car!
Richard carefully drove up the little track, Thomas winced as the car's wheels dipped down into several deep potholes, but they made it unscathed, Richard parking up outside the cottage at the furthest end of the track, the only house ahead of them was the grand one on the headland they had seen earlier and Thomas reckoned that must have a different entrance to this one. Richard looked smug as he proved that he was right, which Thomas pretended not to notice. No sooner they had climbed out of the car, a young woman saw them and came over to the gate. Thomas was a little concerned that their cover story about them being work colleagues would not be fallen for in this setting. "We saw the sign," Richard said as a way of introduction to the woman.
"Well you're in luck. We only put the sign up last week, and my mother has just finished baking. If I'm honest I didn't expect to have seen any tourists yet. They don't tend to turn up until the end of the month. Sorry, I'm rambling, I always do that," The woman said. "I'm Annie."
Thomas didn't expect to be greeted so informally, but since she started it they followed suit. "I'm Thomas and this is my um, colleague Richard," he said.
"Oh so you aren't tourists then?"
"No, we are here on business, but nothing wrong with taking a break," Richard said smiling.
"Quite right. Follow me, we have some tables outside in the garden around the side, you can see the sea well. Nice car by the way," Annie said. She must have been about the same age as Stephen, Thomas thought. She had long brown hair, tied loosely in a plait down her back, and gave of an air of confidence that made him feel at home. He was sorry then that he had not introduced Richard as a friend, as he saw not one flicker of judgement in her eyes.
...
"You're not local then?" Annie asked later as she brought a tray carrying several warm and wonderfully smelling scones out to the table they were sitting at that overlooked the cove and the sea, accompanied by two pots- one containing clotted cream, and the other strawberry jam as well as a pot of tea and two cups.
"Yorkshire," Richard answered.
"Oh, really not local then. And the car, is it yours? Sorry I don't mean to pry, I tend to ask too many questions."
"Nothing wrong with being inquisitive," Richard said. "We probably don't come across as people who would own a car like that."
"Well no you don't. Any wealthy visitors usually don't speak like you two do," Annie said.
"It's our employers car. He let us have it for the week," Thomas said, sticking to the story.
"Wow, he must trust you, if my brother was home he would be very jealous of you both."
"He is a good friend," Richard said. "Is it you and your brother then here?"
"Along with my parents and younger sister. She made the jam, she always does when she is not at school," Annie explained. "My father and older brother are out fishing today, they will be back later in the evening."
"Well you can pass on our compliments to your mother and sister, these are wonderful," Thomas said.
"Thank you. And you prepared them in the correct way too which is good," Annie said.
"There is a correct way?" Thomas asked.
Annie giggled, "Yeah. Cornish way is jam first on the scone, then cream on top. Over the border in Devon, they do cream first."
"There we are Mr Barrow, we have made a good impression!" Richard chuckled.
"I'll leave you too it," Annie said before leaving Richard and Thomas alone.
"I'm sure they taste just as good whichever way you prepare them," Thomas said.
"Don't tell folks around here that," Richard said. "Tea?"
"Sure," Thomas said, finishing off one half of the scone. As he watched Richard pour the tea for them both and then prepare his one scone, in the correct way of course, a thought dawned on Thomas. He leaned over the table a bit towards Richard, making Richard lookup. "You know, this is the first time we have eaten out together in public, like actually sat at a table and ate. Not just us on a wall with chips."
"Nothing wrong with chips."
"No but you know what I mean," Thomas said softly.
"Yeah I do," Richard said. Thomas was now eating the second scone, and had managed to get jam half way up his face. Richard was so tempted to remove it for him, but he had to stop himself. "Thomas, you've got a little bit of jam there."
Thomas had noticed Richard smiling at him. "Right thanks."
"I wonder if we could get any of these to take with us. Or maybe I could make some when we return, I'm sure my mother has a scone recipe or you could get one from the Downton kitchens?" Richard suggested.
...
Annie watched the two visitors, Richard and Thomas, from the kitchen window whilst she was at the sink. She wasn't sure about them being work colleagues, though she couldn't think of why they would lie or how they would get a fancy car like that otherwise. They looked more like best friends, though you can be friends with people you work with, she supposed. One or two things were different though, such as how Thomas's hand lingered on Richard's as he passed him the knife or how Richard's face would light up when Thomas said something funny. They act more like a couple, than just friends, she thought.
...
"I'll just turn the car around Mr Barrow," Richard said as Thomas settled their bill, adding a bit on top of what they owed.
"He drives then?" Annie asked.
"He is very fond of the car," Thomas said. "I can drive but I don't think he'd let me anywhere near the wheel." Just at that moment he heard the unmistakable sound of the spinning of wheels followed by the equally unmistakable sound of Richard's curses.
"Oh no! I'm sorry I should have told you about the field gate. There is a natural spring there. Water bubbles up all year round so its always-"
"-Very muddy?" Thomas said, finishing her sentence.
"Yeah."
They both went out into the lane, where the Aston Martin, which has now been painted brown instead of green, was going nowhere. "Richard, what did you do that for?" Thomas said, immediately regretting how he phrased that.
Richard stood looking hopelessly at the back of the car. "Well I didn't exactly plan on reversing into that. Look I can get her out, I just need some stones or a plank of wood or something."
"I'll be right back," Annie said, hurrying into the garden again. She returned with a few stones. "They are from the garden wall but I can put them back so no one will know."
"Oh, that will be perfect thank you!" Richard said. He placed the stones behind the back wheels creating a makeshift road and hoping this will be enough grip for the tires.
"Thomas can you give us a push?" Richard said.
Thomas looked reluctant as that would almost certainly mean becoming covered in mud. "I can some of the men down in the cove to come up and help if you like?" Annie offered. Thomas thought about it but he didn't want any more attention drawn to them both.
"No I can manage, it's fine," he said, albeit reluctantly.
Richard put the car into gear and tried the wheels, slowly as too much power would just dislodge the stones from underneath the wheels, not helping at all. Thomas, pushed the rear of the muddy car. The tires slipped a little but found some friction and with a little more power, the car was freed from the mud. "Ha ha!" Richard exclaimed with triumph. "There I knew you could do it!" Thomas stepped back away from the car as Richard got out, considering how things could have gone he wasn't too worse off. His shirt was still white, but from the knee down his trousers now had lots of splatters of mud all over them. He didn't even bother to look at his shoes. Still the shirt was the most important as it was white. Richard's joyful smile then fell as he saw the state of his beloved, (the car not Thomas Barrow). "Oh no! I'm so sorry! You poor thing!"
Annie looked momentarily confused before she asked Thomas, "Is he talking to the car?"
"Yep," he said.
"Okay then," Annie grinned.
"Annie, could I ask another favour of you?" Richard asked. "Can I have a few buckets of water and an old rag or sponge? I can't possibly leave her like this for long."
"Sure, I'll have to fill them up from the pump though, we don't have running water here," she said.
"I'll help you with them," Thomas said.
…
Thomas watched as Richard washed off the last of the mud from the wheel arches. It had taken a chunk of their time out of their afternoon. It was now a lot later than they had planned but Thomas wanted Richard to be happy and now he seemed to be. "Right, I think she's as good as new now, better even," Richard said. "Thank you for your help," he said to Annie.
"It's been an interesting afternoon," she said grinning.
"Yeah, sorry about all this," Thomas said.
"Don't worry about it," she said as Thomas got into the car that was now sparkling with drops of water. "Enjoy the rest of your holiday."
"Thank you. If we're ever in the area again, we'll be sure to pop by," Richard said, tipping his hat before starting the engine.
As they drove down the track, it registered with Thomas. "She said holiday, Richard."
"Looks like our lie was found out Mr Barrow," he said, but not being bothered by that in the slightest.
…
The sun had set by the time they finished off a makeshift dinner made up of various things they were able to buy in a nearby village shop. They had stopped off on Goonhilly once again on the way back. Richard had one last thing he wanted to tick off the list for this week- stargazing. The sky was clear, not a single cloud was visible as they both sat cuddled up in the back seat of the Aston. The stars slowly made themselves known, the brighter ones at first until it became properly dark not long after. There were no lights where they were parked and non for miles around so the only light came from the stars above them. Thomas thought they all looked the same at first. Tiny points of light, impossible to reach or count. He tried but each time he counted a few, he would see others appear that he hadn't noticed before. But after looking more closely, he could see that they were all a little different. Some were blue, some more yellow, some white and a few orange. Some flickered faster than others who just seemed to shine constantly. There was a misty band of stars stretching across them from one side of their view to the other. "Milky way?" he asked Richard as he leaned against his shoulder on the leather seat.
"Yeah, and you see those stars, the ones that look like a question mark?" Richard asked as he points.
"I think so, the one with that bright blue star at the base?"
"Yeah, that's the one. That forms part of the constellation of Leo, the lion," Richard said.
"Hmm, if you say so, doesn't look like a lion to me," Thomas said.
"I think the ancient Greeks had a vivid imagination admittedly," Richard said. He laughed and Thomas felt the vibrations go through himself.
Thomas shuffled in the seat, Richards arm was resting on the top of the seat behind Thomas's head. He looked up and saw a quick flash across the sky above them. "Did you see that?"
"Yeah, shooting star," Richard said almost in a whisper.
Thomas tilted his head up to face Richard. "Richard?"
"Yes love."
"Kiss me." Richard kissed Thomas tenderly, cradling his face with his hand, before Thomas pushed himself up more from the seat and kissed Richard back, underneath a thousand stars.
Notes:
-The road that Richard and Thomas walk along to Porthleven for their fish and chips is only present in small sections now. It has been eroded severely by the sea, and the last time you could drive all the way along was in the 1970's. Since then it has been part of the coast path owned by the National Trust. A few years ago there was a huge storm that washed a large section of cliff away, meaning even the coast path had to be diverted inland.
-The Porthleven lifeboat station was closed due to frequent damage from the sea and not being able to contain the larger boats, in 1929.
-Porthleven still has a fishing community though not as much as it did decades ago. The boats in the harbour are a mixture of fishing boats and privately owned vessels used for leisure. The ship inn is real, it is supposed to be very haunted, all I know is the food is great. Porthleven is host to the annual food festival- a lot of building around the harbour have been converted into cafes and high end restaurants.
-The Devil's Frying Pan deserves its name. It is a collapsed sea cave and there are a few similar features along other sections of the coast. It is only accessible by sea or by a very brave person with a rope!
-Cornish cream tea- consists of scones, jam and clotted cream and a pot of tea. Jam on first and then cream. In Devon, it is the opposite. I have tried both and I can't say they taste different, but it is traditional!
-Stargazing on Goonhilly- the sky is very dark here so is ideal, although a bit spooky! I was not entirely accurate with what Thomas and Richard would have seen in the sky. The Milky Way wouldn't be visible until the early morning at that time of year, but it creates a romantic scene so oh well!