Chapter 15: Percy

The next morning, I was ready early. I had asked Tony to prepare a picnic basket for us and he was happy to oblige. When Laura came down, I was nervous as a teenager.

There was something about Laura that hit me deep in my core. I’d seen other women hold all the attention in a room before with their fake personalities, fancy dresses, and voluptuous bodies. Laura didn’t need anything of that. She was the real thing. She was genuine. She could woo me wearing T-shirts and jeans, just with a smile instead of make-up.

“Should we invite Molly?” I asked Laura.

“On our date?”

Idiot. I gave myself a mental slap upside the head.

Laura, of course, didn’t let it go so easily.

“Aunt Molly, do you want to crash our romantic date?” she called.

Molly emerged from the kitchen. “Nothing I would love more than being an awkward third wheel,” she said. “But someone has to be in charge while you are out.”

We went out of the inn to find two white horses neighing as if they were calling us.

Laura looked at me surprised and I smiled at her.

“Surprise.”

“How did you get these horses?”

“Oh, I met them yesterday, I asked them if they wanted to ride with the most beautiful girl in Middletown and they said yes.”

Thing was, I had made a call to Red Harding, the guy I was helping with the restaurant renovations, and he was happy to help me. His father owned a farm and he had some horses to lend.

“You outdid yourself, Percy.” She grinned and swung herself up onto the saddle as easily as if she were mounting a bike.

I, on the other hand, clumsily heaved myself onto my horse with enough grunting and sweating that I was afraid Laura’d take one look and call the whole thing off.

We headed west to the lake.

Our reflections gleamed on the crystalline waters of the lake. The horses whinnied and the birds chirped while we ate our sandwiches. “This is the sound of happiness, ” I thought.

“You still haven’t told me how you found this place,” Laura said. “It’s perfect.”

I didn’t want to admit that Red Harding had saved me again, so I gave her a vague answer, “Just stumbled on it. Good luck, I guess.”

The hanging branches of the old trees and rainbow of wildflowers made it the perfect spot for a romantic picnic. I had to admit the guy had good taste in romantic date spots. Not far from us there was a weeping willow. Its branches hung down over the water, forming an aesthetically arranged curtain of willow twigs.

Laura gazed out at the impossibly smooth water of the lake. “Thank you for bringing me here, Percy.” She leaned forward and put her arms around me, and hugged me tight. I pulled her closer to my body and kissed the top of her head. I liked that she wasn’t afraid to touch me.