Walking the Crimson Road

by Perrie Patterson

  The band is great, and we dance and sing until we are hoarse and shut the bar down. Sneaking into the house, we try to be as quiet as possible. Lane kisses me goodnight and whispers, “It’s okay to sleep in a little tomorrow.” I shut the door behind me, take a quick shower, and crawl under the warm downy blanket. I drift off to sleep dreaming about sunsets and birthday parties.

  46

  #WOKE

  The next evening everyone is happy when the rental truck drives off with its final load of tents and chairs from the party last night. We’re all feeling a bit lazy and chill after Star Wars bounce houses, costumed characters and too much cake. Ross and Reagan haven’t skipped a beat and are busy painting their birdhouse gift sets on the patio. Lane and I are snuggled in a pool chair watching Don and the guys grill shrimp and steaks for dinner. Matt pops open a beer and sits next to us.

  “How about a bonfire on the beach after dinner?” he asks, to whoever is listening.

  Ross hears him and asks, “Can we do smores?”

  His dad answers, “Sounds, like a plan. If you guys put away the paint you can help dig the pit for the fire on the beach.”

  Renee walks over and helps the twins pack away the paints. They scurry off to find their shovels.

  Lane stands and pulls on a shirt and heads to the beach to help Matt set up the wood for the fire.

  Macy shows me where they keep the stones that go around the firepit, so Meg and I follow her over and bring back several stones to go around it. Matt and Luke get a load of wood from the side of the house and build a tall triangle of logs which they’ll light after the sun goes down.

  After a leisurely dinner poolside, Lane and the guys light the fire. It’s dark and a little chilly, so I go upstairs and put on a sweatshirt and come back down. The twins are now wearing coats and have marshmallows on the ends of their sticks. Conor, Jack, Kayla, and two of her friends have walked down to join us around the fire.

  Lane takes my hand, and we sit on a blanket he’s spread out for us. He gathers a plate of s’more’s supplies and sits facing me.

  “I have the perfect s’more process,” he explains. “First, I lay out two graham crackers, add one piece of chocolate to each side, and then I toast my marshmallow, continuously turning it while holding it over the fire. When it’s toasted on all sides, I lay the marshmallow on one Graham cracker, pick up the other one and press and pull the marshmallow to get it off the stick. Voila, the perfect s’more.”

  I watch his process in total amazement. I try to do the same but end up with a lopsided, half-on-half-off marshmallow, and we crack up laughing. I can’t stop laughing, and neither can Lane. Tears are running down my face. I look at him and feel so much love in this moment. He seems to feel the same. I stop laughing long enough to take a bite, and I get marshmallow goo on the side of my face.

  “You got something right here.” He starts to lick it off, which sends us both into a laughing fit again.

  Luke has his guitar and starts strumming a John Mayer tune. We sing along. Soon everyone notices I can really sing, and they start asking for requests. We decide on the “Hallelujah” song. I start off softly, “Now I heard there was a secret chord…” I get louder with each Hallelujah, and I close my eyes and feel the song pouring out and belt out the last Hallelujah to a round of applause, whistles and cheers. I feel a little embarrassed.

  “Bex, that was amazing,” Macy and Meg say in unison.

  “Have you thought about trying out for American Idol?” one of Kayla’s friends asks.

  I lean my head on Lane’s shoulder, and he wraps his arm around me. “No. I’ve never really thought about it much. I’ve always been a dancer and have concentrated on that.”

  “Your voice is beautiful, Rebecca,” Colleen says.

  “Any more requests?” Luke asks.

  Reagan raises her hand. “The Moana song.” She looks over at me, “Bex, do you know that one?”

  “Yes, but you have to help me sing it.” I motion for her to come sit with me. Reagan comes over, sits in my lap, and we begin. Luke joins in on the guitar, and everyone joins in singing the chorus.

  Reagan stands and takes a bow. Renee and Matt get up and tell the kids it’s time for bed. Ross and Reagan walk around, giving everyone a hug and kiss goodnight before they walk back to the house. The rest of the adults decide to follow and say their goodnights, leaving just us college kids curled up around the fire. Apparently one of John’s sister’s friends is with Conor, so they’re coupled up. Kayla and her other friend are on their phones. John gets up to poke the fire, gets a beer out of the cooler and sits back down. Lane starts kissing my neck, sending shivers and butterflies through me like an electrical charge. My feelings for him are stronger than ever. After a few minutes of quiet kissing and snuggling, we decide to call it a night. The guys pour water and ice from the cooler over the fire until it’s out. Lane grabs the blanket, and we wave goodnight to his cousins as we head toward the house.

  He walks me to my room and kisses me in the doorway.

  I whisper, “I love you.”

  He kisses my nose, then lips and says, “I love you, too. I really love you, Rebecca.”

  We stare into each other’s eyes. I feel as if I can see into his soul.

  “I want to take you out on the sailboat tomorrow.”

  “That sounds awesome.”

  He reaches for my hand, lifts it, kisses it softly and whispers, “Goodnight.”

  I close the door slowly, watching him through a tiny crack as he walks down the hallway. He knows I’m still watching him, and he looks back over his shoulder and winks at me. I float over to the bed, feeling as if I have wings, lifting me up and gently setting me down into a dreamy slumber.

  The next morning Lane sends me a text. Good morning, Angel. Sleep well?

  I did, and u?

  Dreaming of u all night. This text makes me swoon. I send him another text. Well, u can c me in a few minutes I’m about to walk downstairs.

  Everyone is having a big breakfast in the dining room this morning. We fix our plates and join them.

  “What are your plans today?” Lane’s dad asks looking from me back to Lane.

  “I’m taking Bex out on the sailboat.”

  Macy says, “That will be a lot of fun. Have you been sailing before?”

  “No, this will be my first time,” I reply.

  Colleen says, “I’ll have Greta fix a basket of snacks for you guys to take.”

  “Remember, Grandma, we’re going to make mosaic stones,” Reagan says with a flip of her fork, spilling egg on the table.

  After breakfast I run upstairs and put on a swimsuit under my t-shirt and shorts, slip on my sandals and pull my hair into a messy bun. Walking through the kitchen on our way to the beach, Lane picks up the snack basket. We stroll down the beach toward the pier. It’s a sunny day with only a few clouds.

  “The weather is perfect,” I say as Lane helps me up onto the sailboat.

  “It is. I’m glad it’s been unseasonably warm this week. I checked the weather before we left. No rain, no storms, and just enough wind to be a perfect day for sailing.”

  Lane tells me what to do, and I help him with the ropes. He gets the sails up and slowly eases the boat away from the dock. I stand with him at the helm. It’s an amazing feeling, the breeze, blue skies, the sun, and the gentle waves lapping the sides of the boat as we move across the water.

  “I love this, Lane.”

  “I knew you would.” He smiles back at me.

  “Is this the boat you took out when you were fourteen, the one from your story?”

  “Yes, this is the very boat. I grew up sailing with my uncles, my cousins and my dad. We would spend a month or two up here in the summers. I can remember as far back as two or three year’s old being on the boat, playing in the sand, and inside the house. That was when my grandmother was still alive. I have the happiest memories of my life here on this boat and in the house where we’re staying. Everything happy, joyful
, and fun I associate with this place. Good memories and good times with family. We’ll go out around this bend and anchor out next to that island over there.” Lane points to an island in the distance.

  I nod my head and wrap my arms around his waist.

  We get to the spot where Lane wants to stop, and he starts working on getting the anchor out. I walk down into the galley to look for the basket of snacks we brought from the house. The snack basket is sitting on a table. I stroll over to get it when I notice the bedroom and the bathroom in front of me, so I wander on in. It’s a tiny bathroom, but I’m glad there’s one on the boat. Before I use the bathroom, I set the basket on the bed. I can hear Lane walking around at the front of the boat. When I come out of the bathroom, I take off my shorts. My hair tie gets caught as I’m pulling my shirt over my head. I reach up, yank the hair tie out, flip my hair over, and shake my hair around. When I flip my head up, I see Lane standing in the doorway.

  “There you are. The anchor is set,” he says, walking toward me.

  “I found the bathroom and the snacks,” I say, picking up the box of crackers.

  Lane pulls me into a tight embrace, and we kiss. He picks me up and sets me on the edge of the bed. I wrap my legs around his waist. We are kissing so passionately I’m breathless and breathing heavy. I’m totally lost in him. He kisses my neck, down to my collarbone then between my breasts and back to my neck.

  He whispers in my ear, “I love you so much, Rebecca.”

  I am grasping for him, pulling him closer to me kissing his neck, his chest.

  He softly says in between kisses, “I want to make love to you.” He lowers my head onto the pillow behind me, and we continue kissing. He moves onto the bed on top of me and slowly moves his hand down my stomach to the top of my bikini bottoms.

  I suddenly stop kissing him and open my eyes. Lane is smiling at me and starts kissing me again. I push him off and sit up.

  “Lane, I, I, I.” I stumble for the words to say, tears start streaming down my cheeks.

  “It’s okay, baby.” He pulls me close and holds me tight.

  “It’s just that I’ve never…” I’m still struggling with what to stay.

  Lane says, “I know, and I’m sorry if I scared you. I had not planned on this. It’s just I saw you in here, and I got carried away. I would never do anything to hurt you.” He strokes my cheek gently.

  “I know. It’s just I’ve never had the feelings that I feel for you. And I’ve never gotten physical in any way with a guy other than kissing. I made a promise to myself when I was in eighth grade, during one of our church retreats, that I would wait until I was married. I want to give myself in that way only to my husband. It was a decision I made a long time ago. It’s stuck with me all these years. But the feelings I have for you are so strong it scared me just now.”

  Lane is looking at me with so much love in his eyes. He pulls my face close to his.

  “Sweet Rebecca. I fell in love with you because you’re different from the other girls I’ve dated in the past. With what you just said, it makes me wish I could turn back time and re-do things. You’re a precious gift, and you have my heart and soul. I love you and want to protect your heart and your feelings. I love and respect you too much to want you to do something that would be against how you feel. It makes me care for you even more because you’re choosing to wait and give yourself only to your husband on your wedding night. I know how special that is, and you should keep that promise you made years ago. It’s a good promise to keep.”

  He wipes the tears from my cheeks, pulls me close, and holds me.

  I look into his eyes. “I love you, Lane. I love you so much.”

  “I love you too, Rebecca, more than you know.” He presses his lips to my forehead, then stands and picks up the basket of snacks.

  “Do you want to go sit up top in the sun?” he asks, reaching for my hand.

  I wipe my cheeks, take his hand, and follow him up to the deck. We lie on the deck of the sailboat for hours, just talking about school, my New York trip and the fact that we leave in a few days.

  When we arrive back at the house, everything is quiet. We walk inside and notice the kids in the front yard. We walk outside and see Colleen, Renee and the twins planting red, white and blue flowers in the flowerbed around the flagpole. Colleen sees us walk up and waves us over.

  “How was your first sailing trip?” she asks.

  “It was perfect,” I say with a big smile.

  Reagan takes Lane’s hand and pulls him over to the flowers and starts telling him what kind they are. Colleen asks if we can go to the store and pick up some things on her list for tonight.

  “Sure, I’ll be glad to. Rebecca may want to go up and change and relax for a while, though.”

  Lane and I follow Colleen into the kitchen to get her list. Lane sticks the list in the pocket of his shorts and says he’ll be back in a few minutes. When he leaves, I pop into my room and turn on the shower. After washing my hair, I wrap it up in a towel. Picking up a bag off the floor, I pull out the new dress I bought on my shopping trip with Lane’s sisters. I slip it on, blow out my hair and add a touch of makeup.

  My phone dings a text from Lauren asking if I’m at the beach. I text back Yes and send a picture that I took with my legs stretched out in the sand with the ocean waves in the background. She texts me a blurry black and white photo that looks like it’s from a newspaper of two people that look like me and Lane getting into a car that looks like his. Her text reads, Is this u? I have no clue what she’s sent me or why she’s asking. I decide to ignore it, because I don’t have time for Lauren or any explaining right now, and I can hear Lane downstairs.

  I walk down the stairs and help him unload the bags in the kitchen before he wanders upstairs to change. I notice Macy and Meg sitting out by the pool. Colleen and Renee come inside with the twins, and Renee takes them upstairs to change. Colleen and Greta begin working on a salad and an appetizer to take to the dinner party we’re having next door with the extended family. I offer my help to Colleen and Greta who are busy washing vegetables.

  The dinner party is more relaxed than I thought it would be, and conversations are easy with Kayla, her two friends, and John and Conor, whom I already know well. Lane’s aunts and uncles are nice, and after dinner we enjoy a rousing game of Trivial Pursuit.

  When there’s a break in the game, Lane and I wander into the kitchen to get a drink. I pull him aside around the corner so we’re out of sight and take both his hands in mine.

  “Thank you for this trip. I know I lied to my parents, but I plan on telling them the truth later. Maybe when I get back home in May. But I want them to know why I came with you and how much you mean to me. I’m going to tell them I’m in love with you.”

  Lane smiles down at me, and he pulls me in tight and holds me. Then he puts his hands on each side of my face and we stare into each other’s eyes. He searches my face, as if he’s looking for something, as if he wants to tell me a secret. Finally, he speaks, “I want you to know how much I’m in love with you. It means a lot that you came. I feel like I can trust you with anything.”

  Suddenly, Colleen yells for us from the other room, “Lane and Bex, come back, it’s your turn.”

  Lane kisses me gently and says, “Ready for more Trivia?”

  47

  #SWERVE

  I’m thinking about how this feels like paradise as I roll out of bed and look out the window at the sunrise over the ocean. It’s the last full day of spring break, and I wish I could stay here forever. I notice it’s 8:30, so I jump into the shower and quickly put on a swimsuit and shorts. I walk downstairs to say my goodbyes to Lane’s sisters and their boyfriends, since they’re leaving this morning. We stand waving to them as their car drives away. Back inside, Renee is getting cereal out for the twins and asks Lane and me to keep an eye on them while she and Matt go upstairs to pack.

  A few minutes later they bring down three suitcases. Lane and I walk outside and help them
load their SUV. We kiss and hug everyone goodbye. As they pull out of the driveway, we can see Ross and Reagan waving to us from their car seats.

  Colleen asks if Lane and I have plans for the day. Lane tells her he’s taking me to lunch later.

  “Your dad and I have dinner plans tonight with friends and we plan to leave around 4:00. We’ll be home late.”

  Joking, Lane says, “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” Don and Colleen laugh and shake their heads, leaving Lane and me standing in the foyer.

  “Come on, let’s go out to the beach,” Lane says, taking my hand.

  Lane and I walk out to the pool, grab some towels and continue to the beach. I throw my towel down, pick up a stick, and begin drawing in the sand, a heart, the date and our initials. I take Lane’s hand in mine, and we hold hands over the large heart and date I’ve drawn and take a photo. I take another one with my toes in the surf. Lane picks me up on his back piggy-back style and twirls me around. I take a video and a few selfies of us being silly and goofing off.

  As I’m putting my phone inside my towel, Lane runs over and tosses a crab near my feet. I scream and start running. He chases me around the beach. When he catches me, I fall breathless into his arms. We stretch out on our towels and lie on our sides facing each other, talking about almost nothing, but it feels like everything.

  “So, the restaurant we’re going to later today, can I wear the dress I had on last night?”

  “I love the dress you had on last night. It would be perfect.”

  “I’m glad you like it,” I say, leaning in for a kiss. “I had fun shopping with your sisters the other day.”

  “I know they like you a lot. You’ve made the cut with the sisters, for sure.”