“I’ll take one of these to my mama as her birthday gift.”
Kip eyes the flowers with indifference, not even paying attention to the meticulous thought I’d put into my creation.
“But you better believe I won’t be telling her one of my guy friends put this together.” He playfully elbows me, his mocking laugh making me sick to my stomach.
My muscles vibrate with the urge to throw a punch. I want to smash that cocky grin right off of Kip’s face. Rip up the bouquet of flowers he’s holding. Yell at him for all the years of bullying I’ve endured.
But I know I can’t do it. Instead, I shrink into myself, my body language giving off a defeated stance, like always. No eye contact. No response, hoping I might disappear.
I rub the heel of my hand across my eyes until I see spots.
“Hey, you okay, bud?”
I open my eyes just in time to see Kip toss me the keys to his truck. “Get on it first thing when you get back. You’re the best!”
He turns and clomps away toward a group of workers ready for instructions, the pretty flowers clutched in a death grip. A few pastel petals jostle loose and dance like feathers toward the ground in an unseen current. I’m thankful for the fleeting beauty of the moment and sigh.
Shoving the keys into my back pocket, I go around to the driver’s side of my truck and get in. With the cooler morning breeze blowing into the cab through the rolled-down window, I continue to count to one hundred. I often use this method in an effort to calm myself down when I’m faced with a stressful situation.
It seems Kip Johnson isalwaysa stressful situation.
“Three, two, and one,” I finish out loud with a relieved exhale.
Soon, I’m smiling again, thinking back to last night when Madison was the center of my universe.
I enjoyed spending the evening with her. Sitting on the front porch with vanilla ice cream in pretty cut-glass bowls. Earllounging under the ceiling fan and my grandfather telling stories from his rocker. It was nice seeing her relaxed, her long hair falling around her shoulders, sundress dipping just enough to show a tease of cleavage, her shoes discarded on the braided rug. I especially liked being held in her arms, her skin sweet and soft to the touch. Lips, generous and warm.
I’d been bold and proud of myself for sharing my most private fears. And because of it, I’d sensed a deep connection to her. Especially when she said she wanted to help me.
And for the first time in a long time, I feel… relieved.
“Do you think about me?” she asked before she drove back to her hotel.
“Of course, I think about you,” I replied in a rush. A part of me unlocked when I spent time with Madison.
“I think about you too. Can I see you again tomorrow?”
“Of course.”
I liked seeing how her face lit up after my reply and the feel of her gentle lips kissing the tip of my nose.
“Good. I’ll call you after lunch when you’re not so busy with the tourists.”
True to her word, she called me in the early afternoon, and we met at my cottage, where we enjoyed lunch together and talked for hours. At dusk, when Kip and the other farmhands were gone for the day, I held her hand and led her to a bare spot in the lavender fields where I spread my Grandma Rosie’squilt and surprised her with a little stargazing. The skies are rich in global clusters this time of the year, and I was anxious to point them out to her.
We watched the sky come alive with light, the surrounding summer humidity thick and sultry.
“Do you see that?” I pointed.
She followed the direction of my hand. “What am I looking for exactly?”
“It’s a star pattern called The Summer Triangle.” I traced the air in a three-point configuration, outlining three very bright stars.
“The three stars have names: Vega, Altair, and Deneb. These stars are so bright they’re even visible in a city sky like Atlanta.”
She turned her head and looked right at me. “Well, I’ll have to remember that the next time I’m home. They’ll remind me of you.”
Her words sent a shiver of joy down my spine, and I squeezed her hand. We continued to marvel at the twilight, the sweet silence not awkward but peaceful. I’d never been happier.
