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“I want a picture of the two of you, please,” her mom said.
Will and Janessa shifted to stand side by side with their arms around each other. In the past, Janessa might have protested having pictures taken, but she wanted this day to be documented. Her first birthday with Will. Well, he’d been around for previous birthdays, but this was their first one as a dating couple.
“We need to get going,” Will said after her mom had taken a bunch of pictures.
“Thank you for letting me snap a few shots. I’ll be sending them to your mom.”
“She’ll like that.” Will took Janessa’s hand as they headed for the front door.
“Have a nice time,” Aria called after them. “I can’t wait to hear all about it.”
As Will drove them to their destination, they chatted about a variety of things. Will had finished up his last summer school class, and he was excited about starting the new school year in a couple of weeks. Janessa loved how devoted he was to his students and how passionate he was about the subject he taught.
After about half an hour, he pulled up to a marina. The lake was sparkling in the bright summer sunlight, and already she could see several boats out on the water.
“We’re going on a boat?” Janessa asked.
“Yep.”
Though they didn’t live far from the lake, it had been a while since she’d been out on a watercraft. Growing up, some in the family—mainly Wilder—had lived on the water, but Janessa hadn’t been one of them. She preferred to sit under an umbrella on the beach with sunglasses and a good book.
After Will parked, they made their way down to the dock. As they neared a pontoon boat with a roof, Janessa noticed that a young man was sitting in the boat. He got up with a smile as they approached him and climbed out onto the dock.
“Everything’s ready to go,” he said, waving his hand at the boat.
“Thank your dad again for me,” Will told him as they performed some complicated handshake. “I really appreciate this.”
“He knows he owes you big time for making sure I passed math. Doubt I could have done it without you being willing to do extra work with me. Not everyone took the time to help me the way you did.”
Will clapped him on the shoulder. “Helping kids is why I went into teaching. But don’t sell yourself short. You did a lot of hard work yourself.”
The young man beamed. “Well, I hope you have a great evening.” He turned his smile on Janessa. “Happy birthday!”
“Thanks.”
The young man waited for them to board the boat, then helped Will untie it from the dock. He gave them a wave, then headed away from them toward the parking lot.
After the guy had left them, Janessa turned to Will. “Do you know how to drive this thing?”
“I certainly do. I’ve had a couple of lessons on it from Darren and his dad. I think we’ll be okay.”
Janessa sat down in the seat next to Will as he settled behind the wheel. Within a matter of minutes, Will was slowly guiding the boat away from the dock and out of the small bay where the marina was located.
Though there were other boats on the water that evening, it wasn’t too crowded. There was a light breeze coming across the lake, which helped to ease the heavy heat of the day.
After a little while, Will slowed the boat to a stop in a small inlet, out of the way of the other watercraft that were moving in the area. He turned off the engine, then secured the boat by dropping anchor and had Janessa move to the area at the back.
Janessa watched in amazement as Will began to pull things out of a bag. First up was a tablecloth that he put over the table that sat in the center of the U-shaped seats at the back of the boat.
Once the cloth was in place, he set a small floral display in the middle table.
“These are beautiful, Will,” she said, reaching out to touch the petal of one of the red roses. There were also white and soft pink roses, along with bits of greenery and baby’s breath. She noticed the floral display was a low design, most likely to make sure it didn’t topple over if the water got a little rough.
Will looked up from where he was bent over the bag and smiled. “I’m glad you like them. I wasn’t sure if roses were too cliché, but I thought they were beautiful. Just like you.”
Janessa had never thought of herself as a particularly vain person, but she couldn’t deny how much she loved that Will thought she was beautiful. She’d always just considered herself average when it came to looks. There was nothing stunning about her appearance, but somehow, in Will’s eyes, there was.
Next from the bag came a couple of small candle holders with high glass sides that would help to protect the flames from the breeze. He lit the candles, then set the table with plates, glasses, and silverware.
