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When we got to the cemetery, Cam led us to a specific section of headstones.
“Do you know someone buried here?” I asked quietly. There were several families dotted here and there around the pristine white grave markers, and the open expanse of perfectly ordered white grave markers held its usual air of solemnity and peace.
“A client,” he said just as softly. “She committed suicide four months after I met her.”
I could hear the emotion in his voice and wondered how such an outcome would have affected him. “I’m so sorry, Cam.”
He looked at me with a sad smile. “Me too. She was an incredible woman. A combat medic in the army.”
We stopped at the gravestone marked with her name. Honora Amory Tully. She’d only been thirty-one at the time of her death.
“She went by Tully,” Cam said. “And she could draw the hell out of an animé character.”
I turned to him, smiling at the sentiment in his voice. “Do you have any of her pieces in your studio?”
“Yeah. I’ll show you one when we get back to my place. Her wife let me hang onto it since it was an illustration of my dog, Gus.”
“Is her wife doing alright? Did Tully leave behind children too?”
“Jill is hanging in there. She has two kids from a previous marriage who are old enough to be good support to her. And Jill is still active duty also, which means the military community is there for her as well.”
After leaving Tully’s gravesite, we wandered through the pathways to other sections, holding hands but remaining silent. The weather was perfect and I felt like I could have walked forever through those sacred grounds.
“I forgot how peaceful it is here,” Cam murmured after a while.
“I was thinking the same thing. I went to the World War II cemetery in France a couple of years ago and had the same experience. It’s on the edge of the sea and so meditative. I hope the families who come to visit their loved ones get even a fraction of this feeling of renewal I get whenever I come.”
We walked around for another ten or fifteen minutes until Cam squeezed my hand. “You ready to go find lunch?”
As we walked toward the exit, I looked over at the man next to me. It was strange how good I felt in his company. He put me at ease, but he also excited me. I felt like I was peeling back layers of him every time he revealed another piece of his life to me.
“I’m actually not up for a ton more walking without a sit down break,” I admitted. We’d been on our feet a couple of hours by now and had only sat while drinking our sodas. “Do you mind if we catch an Uber to lunch?” I asked as we headed to Memorial Avenue.
Cam stopped and turned to me with a smile. “Absolutely. I was trying to be brave, but I could use a break too.”
I knew he was exaggerating because he had the calf muscles of a habitual jogger, but I appreciated him making it so easy on me. We waited for our ride and took it to the nearby Quarterdeck restaurant for a seafood lunch.
After placing our orders and receiving cold drinks, I sat back in my chair at the little table. “You said you weren’t really an artist, but do you have other hobbies?”
“I do paint, but I’m just not very good at it. I enjoy simple things like flowers and landscapes. More as a way of meditating than anything else. But most weekends I spend hiking if the weather is nice.”
“Wait a minute,” I said laughing. “If you’re a hiker, how come you needed an Uber after a leisurely walk down the mall?”
His cute face flushed pink. “I’m a slow hiker. I mostly prefer flat nature trails where I can plod along and take pictures with my phone camera.”
I reached for his hand and held it across the table cloth. “I love hiking. Where do you like to go? Have you been to Prince William Forest Park?”
Cam’s eyes lit up. “Oh my god, I love it there. The wooden bridge on that one trail? Did you know that place used to be a spy training facility during World War II?”
I shook my head. “I’ve only been there once, but it was nice and flat. I visit the Seneca Creek Greenway Trail with my family sometimes. My mom loves walking by the river and it’s only like fifteen miles from their house.”
Cam looked up at me from under his lashes before glancing away and back again. “Would you… I mean… I was thinking about going to Whiteoak Canyon in Shenandoah tomorrow if the weather stays like this. Would you… maybe want to come with me?”
My heart picked up speed. He looked so unsure and nervous all of a sudden. I pulled his hand up to my lips and kissed his knuckles. “I’d love to. Maybe we can pack a lunch and make a day of it.”
His smile was shy again, like it had been when we first met several hours before. “I would love that. It’s a well-maintained trail system and the hike itself is a little under five miles. There are tons of waterfalls on it. We don’t even have to do the whole thing if—”
A nearby patron leaned in and interrupted. “You know, the C&O Canal Towpath has a paved bit that’s wheelchair accessible,” she said quietly, looking down at my leg. “You should check it out. Might be easier than tripping over rocks and such.”
