“I already told you—it’s a surprise. But I swear, there won’t be any running. Or jogging. Or even fast-paced walking. I’m suggesting sneakers because we will be walking—leisurely,” I added to keep her from freaking out. “And I don’t want you to get blisters.”
“Why do I have a feeling I’m going to regret this?” she muttered under her breath on her way back to her room to grab different shoes. By the time she rejoined me in the living room, she seemed less than impressed and even less excited about the surprise I had planned.
I’d always loved being outdoors, whether for a run, out on the lake, tossing around a ball…anything. It didn’t matter the reason. If the sun was out, I wanted to be, as well. But Janelle was the opposite. She blamed it on being the youngest and never having kids her age in the neighborhood, which kept her inside most of her childhood, and therefore, groomed her to be the indoorsy woman she is today. However, that didn’t prevent me from finding something to do with her that would appeal to both of our desires. It may have been hard, but not impossible.
“Come on, Jelly. Look, there’s a bench right up there. Let’s just go a little more and then we can take a break.” She stood about ten feet behind me, hunched over with her hands on her knees, panting like she’d just climbed a mountain.
“You did this to get back at me, didn’t you? I can’t believe a word you say anymore.”
I couldn’t help but laugh, which turned out to be the wrong thing to do. It only irritated her more. “Janelle, babe, I’m not getting back at you for anything. I swear. I really did think this would be something fun we could do together.”
“Fun?” Her anger only served to make it that much more entertaining. “We’re outside, Holden…babe,” she spat and finally walked toward me. “It’s hot and I’m sweaty and there are bugs. Bugs, Holden. What about a nature hike made you think I would enjoy it? Admit it, you did this to even the score after the air freshener incident.”
My laughter turned to cackles when she reminded me of that. A few days ago, I’d made some comment about an odor in the house. I had no idea what caused it, but something had left a muted stench inside. I never asked her to deal with it or make it go away, nor did I ever accuse her of being the cause. Yet that didn’t stop her from taking matters into her own hands. In every room, she plugged in air fresheners, which would’ve been great had they all been the same scent. Then she lit candles—again, all different fragrances. As soon as I’d walked in after work that evening, I was assaulted by a migraine-inducing aroma war. While I slept, I was convinced I was in Hawaii surrounded by lavender and brown sugar with clean sheets waving in the breeze. As if that wasn’t a bad enough combination, there were also whiffs of cinnamon and baked goods.
I hadn’t found it funny at the time, especially when I had to deal with a mammoth-sized headache, but Janelle made it better when she disposed of all but a couple air freshener plug-ins. She never admitted to why she got rid of it all, but I chose to believe she’d done it for me. What I’m sure started out as a way of being a royal smartass turned into something far worse, and it wouldn’t surprise me if she felt bad about it. Regardless of why she aired out the house, I was just thankful she had. And now I could laugh at it.
“Janelle,” I finally said after composing myself. “It’s not a hike. In fact, there is no hiking involved. This is a nature trail, meant for leisurely walking and enjoyment.”
“I swear to God, Holden, if you say leisurely one more time, I’m gonna leisurely punch you in the throat.”
I held up both hands in surrender. “The trail is even covered with trees—from start to finish. I looked into it before planning to bring you here, because I know you hate the sun.”
“I hate the heat. Which is derived from the sun, but not always the same thing.”
“I’m sorry. I wanted to spend the day with you and do something we’d both like. I thought finding a place we could enjoy a…laidback stroll would be fun. There’s this creek-slash-tiny river, trees, birds, pretty flowers.”
Her expression softened, and so did her tone when she said, “I’m sorry. I really thought you dragged me out here to be a dick and pay me back for all the shit I’ve given you this week. I didn’t know you truly wanted to hang out. I appreciate the time you spent thinking of this. Now…let’s get to that bench.” And with that, she walked ahead of me and took a seat at the observation area.
I joined her and stared off at the greenish-looking water in front of us. I suddenly saw this place through her eyes. Once I stepped out of the blissful bubble of us finally spending real time together, I was able to see this place with a renewed sense of sight, and I wouldn’t have doubted if those bird sounds were filtered in through a speaker somewhere. The water was stale, and I was sure the only living thing in it was bacteria. What I imagined to be flowers turned out to be weeds, and I’d probably lost more blood to mosquitoes today than I did when I split my head open as a kid.
“I can see now how you convinced me to marry you,” she teased without looking at me.
“Wait…what?” I angled my body to face her, utterly shocked over her statement. “First of all, I didn’t convince you of anything. It was all your idea.”
“Mine?” She turned to me with confusion lining her brow, probably mirroring my own surprise. “Why the hell would I suggest we get married? That makes no sense. You know I don’t remember it, so you’re probably making this whole thing up, knowing I can’t disprove it.”
“Not at all. I swear. We were in front of the Bellagio when you brought it up.”
“How did I bring it up?”
For whatever reason, I never anticipated having to explain this to her. I knew she had no recollection of that night—no matter how much it pained me to admit that—but I guess I never thought we’d have this conversation. With a long sigh, I resigned myself to revisiting that night all over again, and giving her the details her brain had blocked out.
“Well, we were making out. I think I might’ve said something about not wanting to ever stop kissing you, and you suggested we get married. At first I thought you were joking, but as it turned out, you were very serious.”
“What were my reasons?”