Know Him

by Courtney Loney

  “You guys are adorable.” Chet laughed and we turned around to look at him. “Smile!” he said, continuing to take pictures of us.

  “Alright, who’s ready to get the show on the road!” Chet said rubbing his hands together. We followed him to the side of the cliff where a zip line was set up at a decline. Luke went first hollering along the way. As Chet hooked me up and I stared over the edge. I could see Luke giving me a thumbs up in the distance with his signature grin. I waved to him and took a deep breath as Chet pushed me over the edge.

  I clutched the strap in front of me as I plummeted down the zipline at lightning speed. The wind blew through my hair and although I only must’ve been on the zipline for thirty seconds, I flew through the air like time stood still. I had never felt so alive. I approached Luke and he pulled me up on the platform with a kiss.

  We continued on and enjoyed the other zip line. The next one was pretty bumpy with lots of twists and turns. We continued our walk to the next platform. We crossed a bridge and approached a completely decked out treehouse. It was completely naturally made. Even the inside had wood carved furniture.

  “Let’s take a little break here. Grab some water and cool down.” There was a water cooler in the corner of the room and Chet got us each a cup. We sat on refinished tree stumps and sipped from paper cups.

  We headed to the second to last zip line and I could tell it was going to be beautiful. It was on the edge of the cliff overlooking the beach. As I soared up above with the wind in my hair, I was mesmerized by the ocean kissing the shore over and over again.

  “It’s time, my friends!” We walked to the edge of the cliff and peeked over. We were about a hundred feet above the sand. The zipline was a U shape. “You lovebirds want to go together?” Chet smiled. My heart started beating out of my chest.

  “Let’s do this Sutton. Together.” Luke grabbed my hand and Chet started hooking us up to the zipline.

  “Okay friends. Luke, I want you to wrap your arms around her.” I stood in front of Luke hooked up to his chest. We were both attached to a zipline too. Luke wrapped me up in his arms.

  “There’s one rule I have personally about this zipline. You have to do it backward.” Chet walked us to the platform on the edge and I gasped. Luke squeezed me tight.

  “Sometimes you just gotta take a leap and hope that it’ll all work out.” and with that, Chet gave us a push over the edge.

  The feeling of falling over that edge was amazing. I could just picture Luke behind me with that signature grin on. We went back and forth on the U until we slowed down enough to be pulled over to the platform.

  “How was it?”The girl who helped unhook us asked. “Amazing.” Luke and I both said in unity.

  On the ride home, Luke drove with one hand on my thigh and a permanent smile. “I could do this every day forever, Sutton.” He said looking over at me.

  “Yeah the zipline was really something special; thank you so much for allowing me to experience it with you.”

  “Well yeah, I agree I loved the zipline but I meant this.” He said squeezing my thigh.

  “Just doing life with you. This passenger seat was made for you.” He leaned over and quickly planted a kiss on my cheek. I grabbed his hand and held it.

  “I promise you Sutton I don’t want you to worry. It might be hard to be apart for now but you are mine and you are the only person in the entire world who I want to spend my life with.”

  “I love you, Luke.” I replied.

  I rolled over in my bed the next morning and stretched. I picked up my phone off the floor next to my bed and checked the time. It was ten. Whatever today’s activity was I apparently still had the option of sleeping in. I dropped my phone onto my chest and it buzzed.

  Day 2 of our amazing fun will begin at noon. Please get ready. An average summer day outfit will do with a bathing suit of course. Oh and get Gia ready too. She’s coming with us. It was signed with a kissy face.

  I got up and pulled a bikini, black tank top, and a pair of jean shorts out of my drawer. I set off to take a shower and then find Gia. After my shower, I walked into the living room. There she was sitting on the couch in a tie-dye romper with a purse on her shoulder peering out the window.

  “Hey, Gia! Guess what? Luke said you get to come with us on our adventure today!” I said taking a seat beside her and leaning my head on the windowsill next to her.

  “I know Sutton! He told me yesterday but I had to promise with all my heart that I wouldn’t tell you! I can keep a good secret! And guess what? Ronnie gets to come too because I kept it!” Gia clapped and jumped up and down. “I’m waiting for Ronnie to come over. Luke said we CANNOT be late so I told Ronnie 11 o clock just in case.”

  At twelve on the dot, Luke pulled up in his uncle’s pickup. Gia, Ronnie, and I were already outside sitting on the front stoop. “Hey my party people, are we ready for today’s adventure!” He ran up, wrapped his hands around my waist, and kissed me gently.

  “Ew!” Ronnie and Gia said in unison.

  We drove about five minutes away when Luke said “we’re almost here!” We took a turn and approached the Coopersville Aquarium.

  “Oh my gosh, I love the aquarium!” I said.

  “Well, I have a few surprises up my sleeve too,” Luke replied. We parked the truck and walked towards the entrance.

  A kid around our age in an ocean blue “Coopersville Aquarium” polo immediately greeted us. “Luke, my man!” They shook hands.

  “Randy, this is my girlfriend Sutton, her little sister Gia and her friend Ronnie.” We all waved.

  “Nice to meet you all! Are we ready to have a blast today?” Randy rubbed his hands together.

  “Thanks for hooking us up, dude.” Luke patted him on the back.

  “Anything for you.” Randy winked.

  Randy guided us through the entire aquarium giving us inside information on all the exhibits.

  “Penguins are my favorite!” Gia yelped.

  “Not turtles?” Ronnie asked.

  “Of course turtles come first,” Gia replied.

  “Well, you’re in for a treat,” Randy said with a smile. “Want to meet some penguins?” He asked.

  “Oh my gosh, are you serious? I asked, gazing at Luke.

  Randy took us to a little room attached to the penguin exhibit. We sat on the floor in a circle and penguins waddled in. Gia and Ronnie squealed with excitement. When they came close enough we were even able to pet them. Randy grabbed a bucket of fish and stood in the middle of the room. He tossed each penguin a few fish and they caught them in their mouths.

  “This is the best day ever,” I said, kissing Luke on the cheek.

  After we finished up with the penguins, we walked over to the area with the dolphins. “Anyone wanna swim with some dolphins?” Randy asked.

  “No way,” I said looking over at Luke who had a big grin on his face.

  We got into black wetsuits and headed into an area of water. We met our instructors and they explained that we could climb into the pool and a dolphin named Bubbles would join us. It was important to let Bubbles approach us and then the instructors would help us with our interaction with it.

  A gate was lifted and the dolphin swam in swiftly. We started out by petting Bubbles then we moved on to instructing her to do all sorts of tricks. She did twists and turns and flips and even high fives. Before we left the exhibit they snapped multiple photos of Bubbles kissing each of our cheeks. It was an experience unlike any other.

  The next day the week of adventures continued. Luke went into the pizza shop to help out during the day because his uncle called out sick.

  Don’t worry our day of fun isn’t canceled. It’s just a night of fun now. I’ll pick you up at 8.

  At 8 pm, I heard the truck sputtering down the road. When I opened up the front door, Luke was standing there fixing his hair. “Oh, hi Sutton.” He smiled and pulled me into a hug. We walked hand in hand to the pickup. He opened the door for me and closed it gently after I g
ot in.

  We drove for a while and I started recognizing where we were going. “Are we going to the sunflower field?” I asked.

  Luke just grinned and replied, “you’ll see soon enough.”

  We pulled into the lot of the sunflower field.

  “I knew it!” I yelled. Luke laughed there was a huge white sheet hanging down from a wire. Luke backed the pickup up and the bed faced the sheet.

  “Stay here for one second. I need a few minutes to set up.” He kissed me on the forehead.

  “Ready!” I hear Luke belt out a few minutes later. I opened up the truck door and walked towards the bed. The wire holding the sheet up was decorated with bright lights and there was some kind of projector sitting on the roof of the truck. Luke was lounging in the bed cushioned by a bunch of blankets. He was munching on a giant tub of popcorn and there were a variety of boxes of candy too.

  “Come on in,” Luke said, extending his hand to me. I climbed into the bed of the truck and nuzzled into his side. “This isn’t just any movie. This is special. Sutton Rae, I want you to meet my parents.” Luke swallowed and reached up and hit the on button on the projector and footage started projecting onto the sheet. Home videos.

  As soon as the footage started playing, a warm feeling took over my whole body. They started out following the adventures of a girl with beautiful wavy hair and a cute boy with sandy brown hair. His hair was cut short but I could tell if it was longer it would be curtly like Luke’s. One ringlet curl fell smack in the middle of his forehead. He was filming each video but would turn the camera on himself every once in a while.

  There were lots of clips of them just enjoying their time together in Coopersville, at the beach, riding bikes, and eating at the Pizza Shack. The footage continued. “Tell the camera what we found out today, Jenny.” Tears started to stream down her face. She smiled through her tears and held up a pregnancy test.

  “We’re having a baby.” Michael turned the camera on both of them and sat next to Jenny. “Hear that folks. Jenny and I are going to be parents.” He looked over at Jenny and wiped her tears and leaned his head against hers. Then the video cut to lots of videos of them pregnant and then to Luke being born.

  Luke remained silent but held me close. His eyes were wide but he had a blank stare on his face. There was even footage of Michael using little Luke, who couldn’t have been more than a few months old, to ask Jenny to marry him.

  Then came the moment I was hoping I’d be able to see the wedding. They were right here in this sunflower field. Jenny looked absolutely stunning, dressed in a silk white dress, with a lace veil. Michael was in a black suit, his hair slicked back, but that one curl still planted on his forehead. The whole ceremony was on film. Luke’s grandpa must’ve been filming it because his grandma was standing next to his parents holding him.

  Luke’s eyes were starting to well up now. There was footage of them kissing Luke who didn’t look more than six months old. They smashed cake in each other’s face. Danced in the field to no music whatsoever and then drove off in a firebird. Then it cut off completely.

  I leaned my head on Luke’s chest. “It’s just so weird.” His voice cracked. “Like the only way, I know them is from these videos and they’re our age. Like they were kids.” He attempted to pull himself together. “I’m sorry Sutton, this is supposed to be a happy week for you I just- I”

  “You don’t have to apologize Luke; this was my favorite thing we’ve done so far and we’ve done some pretty awesome things. I’m so glad you’re open to sharing these things with me.”

  We laid in the darkness for the rest of the night just staring at the stars and I woke up the next morning still in the truck. I checked my phone and found lots of text messages from my mom. I quickly shot her a text apologizing and letting her know I’d be home soon.

  I stretched and turned my body towards Luke. He stirred a little bit and then his eyes started fluttering. “Hey, beautiful good morning.” He said in his hoarse sleepy voice. I kissed him gently on the lips.

  “I can’t believe I leave tomorrow.” The knot in my stomach was back and I had a feeling it wasn’t going anywhere.

  Luke ran his fingertips and down my arm. “I know Sutton. It came too quickly but I told you we’re going to be okay.” I looked into his eyes and half-smiled. “So I don’t have a lot of plans for us today. I just want to spend the day by your side that’s all I know. I figured you could pick today’s activities.”

  “Well this isn’t much fun but I have lots of packing to do.” Luke grabbed my hand and kissed it.

  “Sutton even packing is a great time in your company.” I smiled and kissed his lips.

  Luke and I spent the day goofing off in my bedroom packing my stuff. When I had completely finished we headed into Gia’s room to help her pack.

  “Luke, are you going to come home with us?” Gia asked him with a twinkle in her eyes. Luke put his hand on Gia’s shoulder.

  “Not right now G. I have lots of things to take care of here. What would Poppy do without me? What about the pizza shop?” Gia hugged him and my heart fluttered.

  “3:30. What do you want to do now?” Luke asked.

  “How about you let me take you on a little adventure. It won’t be anything crazy.” Luke smiled.

  “Okay but we need to swing by the pizza shop by 6:30.”

  “Deal” I replied.

  “Are you sure your uncle wouldn’t kill me if he knew I was driving this truck?” I asked Luke as we puttered down the road to our first destination.

  “Sutton, I don’t really care what he thinks; thank God he’s not driving it anyways.” Luke gulped out loud.

  “Okay, stop one!” I said happily.

  “My house?” Luke asked.

  “Run in and get Poppy and her leash.” I said with a smile.

  “If you say so!” He said jumping out of the truck.

  As Luke walked towards the house I quickly made a phone call to the home where his grandma lives.

  “Glend Oaks Nursing Facility this is Maria, how may I assist you today?” The woman on the other line sang.

  “Hi Maria, I was just wondering if you allow pets to visit the folks who live at your facility?”

  “Oh yes! We are a big fan of support dogs here at Glend Oaks! As long as your dog is up to date with all vaccinations and you sign a form you can bring them in anytime!”

  “Perfect! Thank you so much, Maria! You’ll have a furry friend visiting in the next few minutes.” I said nicely before hanging up my phone.

  As soon as I hung up Luke and Poppy came barreling out of the house. I laughed as Poppy pulled him towards me. They hopped in the truck. Poppy licked me all over.

  “So where are we off to?” Luke asked.

  “You’ll see!” I said with a cheesy smile.

  “Are we at my grandma’s home?” Luke questioned. “What-what about Poppy?” He said, confused.

  “Poppy gets to visit too!” I said with a smile.

  “Oh my gosh Sutton, really? How did you throw this together so fast? My grandma will be so happy.” Luke shot me that cheesy grin.

  We walked into the home with Poppy and she was an immediate celebrity. The woman behind the counter looked exactly how I pictured her after hearing her voice. She was plump and wore bright blush on her cheeks. Her hair was curly and sat perfectly on her shoulders. Her eyes lit up when we walked in with Poppy.

  There was a common room right near the entrance and Poppy immediately pulled Luke towards it to visit the old men in it who were playing cards.

  She had been pet and loved ten times before we could even make it to grandma Cindy’s room. Poppy was loving it and there was an aura of happiness throughout the home as well.

  “Hi, grandma!” Luke said approaching grandma Cindy.

  “Hi, Luke!” She replied. I breathed a sigh of relief; it was a good day so far. “Do you remember Sutton and we brought a friend too?” He turned to the side and I walked towards her with Poppy.

&nb
sp; “Oh my! How precious! You brought a beautiful girl and a sweet pup, too! Looks just like the dog Rosemary your mother and uncle had as a child!”

  Poppy jumped on her lap and licked her face. I could see the happiness in her eyes and Luke’s too.

  “Well, she’s my puppy so I’ll be sure to bring her to visit when I come from now on. I didn’t know if it was okay but Sutton here set this all up.” He grinned at me.

  We went out in the courtyard and took a walk with Poppy. Grandma Cindy didn’t have any episodes and it was a perfect way to spend the afternoon. When we got back in the truck Luke was glowing.

  “Sutton that was the best I’ve seen my grandma in a while. I never even thought to bring Poppy to see her. So thank you.” He said grabbing my hand.

  We pulled up to the boardwalk.

  “Let’s grab some ice cream cones to go,” I said.

  “I got it,” Luke said. He jogged onto the boardwalk and got us each a cone and Poppy some ice cream in a bowl.

  “I gotta drive quick so our cones don’t melt.” I giggled.

  A little while later we pulled up to the sunflower field. “You know I love it here.” Luke smiled.

  “I figured this would be the perfect place to hang and enjoy our ice cream.” We walked hand in hand and Poppy followed behind us.

  The grass was jagged and unkempt. It swallowed us whole. Poppy ran around the field and chased butterflies. The sunlight beat down on us. It was like a scene from a movie and I wished that moment could have lasted forever.

  At 6:30, we pulled up to the side of the boardwalk and started towards the Pizza Shack. The pull door in the front of the shop was all the way down.

  “Did the shop close early today?” I asked Luke as he started unlocking the front and pulling up the door.

  Before he could even answer a sea of voices yelled “surprise!”

  “Oh my god, Luke!” I said my mouth hanging open

  “A little going away party never hurt anybody.” He said with a wink.

  “Sutton!” I heard in a familiar voice.

  “No way,” I said out loud before I even turned around. It was Reagan.