A Pumpkin Patch Proposal
A Point Pleasant Holiday Short Story
By Shane K Morton
Evan
I walked fast. I only had a small window of opportunity, and I really needed to get this done quickly. Everett and I had been dating seriously for over ten months now, and I knew without a shadow of a doubt that he was the one for me. I think he felt the same way too, but there was always that chance that he wasn’t ready.
I was.
I was resolute in my knowledge that we belonged together. That he was the one person in all of the world that I wanted to grow old with, maybe even have kids with, one day. When you find someone you know you cannot live without, it’s stupid to wait, right?
My parents will think it’s crazy. They are old fashioned and have too much money for their own good. Mother will believe that I should have a longer courtship, and Dad will wonder if I’m being rash. Well, maybe, I am. Sometimes you have to throw caution to the wind.
I moved to Point Pleasant a little over a year ago. My company had this position come available, and I was tired of living in a big city. I had always longed for a small town, somewhere quaint and quiet, and The Pleasant was exactly that. It’s bordered on three sides by the Caluhumas Mountain Range, and on the other by a huge lake that is so wide, the mountain peaks on the other side look tiny in the distance. It’s gorgeous here.
All of the locals know each other, and during the summer and winter, the place is crawling with tourists. We have some of the best skiing in the country, and the lake is a summer chaser’s paradise. The population grows by the thousands, and most of the people in town make their money during our tourist season.
I met Everett during a low point of his life. He thought he was in love with his best friend Danny, and they had tried to date for a few months. When it ended, it broke both of them. Everett, being a realist, realized that what he felt for Danny wasn’t true romantic love, it went deeper than that. They were family, but even though they made sense on paper, it didn’t work out in real life. They had been best friends since middle school and went through most of their firsts together, even coming out as gay in high school was something they shared. They had deep, unbreakable bonds, and over the last year, they had managed to salvage their friendship.
I actually like Danny quite a bit, although I am not sure what he really thinks of me. I hope he likes me, too, but I did start dating Everett just a couple of months after their breakup. It was touch and go with us at first. I think we are in a good place now, though. At least I think so. Danny was a hard nut to figure out. But he was one of the most beautiful men I had ever laid my eyes on. I couldn’t blame Everett for trying to fall in love with him.
I opened the door to my destination. Puckett’s Jewelry was the only fine jewelry store in The Pleasant. Mr. Puckett said behind the counter and waved at me as I came in.
“Back so soon? I figured it was going to take you a little longer to make up your mind,” he laughed jovially. “So… What did you choose?”
He peered at me over his thin glasses and raised his eyebrows. This wasn’t my first time coming in here trying to choose the perfect ring. You only get one chance to propose, and I wanted to do it right.
“Well, I think… I am going to go… with... uh… You know I had made up my mind before I came in here,” I laughed. Okay. I am going with the Claddagh in white gold,” I said firmly.
“Aaah, yes. The Irish wedding band!” He clapped his hands together happily. “A great choice, Evan. “Everett is going to love it. A gentle nod to his heritage and a ring that he can wear forever. I take it you two will be in to get matching bands eventually.”
“Uh… I gue… guess so,” I stuttered. This was getting real now.
“If I remember correctly, you said a size nine.” He went to the back and quickly brought out the ring in a velvet lined box. He sat it down in front of me on his glass counter.
“It’s beautiful. Yes, Mr. Puckett, I think that it’s perfect,” I stared at the ring and tried to imagine myself getting down on one knee to offer it to Everett. The tiny hands holding a heart symbolized everything I felt for him.
“I take it you do not want this gift-wrapped, right?” he grinned at me, a wide smile beaming from his face, filled with joy. “I love being a part of everyone’s love here in the Pleasant. I couldn’t tell you how many engagement rings and wedding bands there are in town that came from this very place. I am happy to be a part of your story, too, Evan. I’ve known Everett since he was just a little tiny thing that wouldn’t let go of his mother’s hand. He was so shy when he was a kid. He’s grown into an incredibly wonderful young man. I wish the two of you as much happiness as the good Lord allows.”
I handed him my card. For a small town, Point Pleasant was a very liberal place. I shook his hand after I signed the receipt and stuck the small box into my pocket.
Tonight was going to either be the greatest night of my life so far… Or maybe the worst.
I walked down the street with a little extra pep in my step. Everett was going to say yes. I just knew it.
Everett
Today was turning out to be a real ball-buster. It started when I spilled coffee from Margie’s Coffee Shop all over my pink shirt. The stain was easy to see, and I had meetings all day. It was humiliating. I forgot my lunch on the kitchen counter and hadn’t had time to go out and get anything, so I was hangry and pissed off about it. But the worst thing was being told that the report I had worked on all week was going in the trash and would have to be redone. The bosses decided they wanted something completely different, and that was annoying.
The universe was trying to kill my joy.
At least tonight, Evan and I were going to go to Louis’ Pumpkin Patch. I’ve always loved that place. Louis’ is where my mom took me for my first Halloween in Point Pleasant. We moved here when I was in elementary school, and I wasn’t thrilled to move someplace that was practically snowed-in until April. I was an Arizona boy and loved the heat. It got cold here, quickly after our move.
She took me to get a pumpkin so we could carve it, something we always did, and I couldn’t believe my eyes. Louis’ Pumpkin Patch was a sprawling feast for my October senses. They had bobbing for apples, pony rides, and a vast expanse of pumpkins in all shapes and sizes. My favorite part was the pumpkin maze. Hundreds of carved pumpkins glowed with their eerie light as you walked through them. Each pumpkin was as ornate and different as the next. It was beautiful and creepy all at the same time.
Evan had never been, which was odd. Everyone in The Pleasant went to Louis’ in October, and then I remembered that Evan had just moved here this time last year. I didn’t even know him yet. He was just this guy who had moved into town, and I hadn’t even given him a second thought.
Well, all I could think about at the time was Danny. We had just broken up before October, and I had been down the entire month. Danny and I had been best friends since middle school, and the moment I laid eyes on him, I was in middle-grade love. He was gorgeous. Those dark curls of his and that killer smile melted most of the hearts in Point Pleasant middle, well, most of the girl’s hearts, anyway. It didn’t hurt that he was the star jock in school.
We became fast friends. He liked my smart mouth, and snarky behavior, and I liked him. Imagine my surprise when a few years later, he admitted the one thing I had always wished for, he was gay. I quickly told him I was too. And that was it. We didn’t date at that point, and he didn’t fall in love with me the way I had always wanted. We had become too close. We were brothers.
We even went to college together and pledged the same frat, now brothers in another way, too. We were there for each other whenever
one of us needed it: bad breakups, bad dates, family death, sickness, and even study buddies. We were each other’s constant in the stormy sea of life. It’s no wonder we eventually started dating.
It’s also no surprise that it quickly fell apart. I have plans and goals. I want to grab life and make the most of it. Danny fell into a routine. His father passed away when we were in college, and his mother succumbed to cancer a few years later. He was lost. H enjoyed being a ski instructor at the lodge and a lifeguard in the summer. He was content doing as little as possible, and his anxieties were usually getting the best of him.
We no longer fit like we might have when we were younger. The men we became were on two completely different paths, and we both knew it. We didn’t argue or get into a fight when we broke up. We just knew it was inevitable, so why wait until something bad actually happened.
Losing Danny was like losing an arm. We were both devastated over it. It wasn’t our romantic relationship or even the sex that we missed. Well, I kind of did miss the sex. Danny was… hot. But what we really missed was our best friend. It took a little while for us to get back to that. But we did.
In the meantime, I met Evan. Sweet Evan, who was a whole lot like me.
I had been hanging out with our friend Crystal at Liberties Pub when Evan strolled in and took a seat near us at the bar. We started talking and went on our first date a few days later. It was purely transactional at the time. I was lonely and recovering from a bad breakup, and here was this handsome and super intelligent man sitting right next to me who had just moved here. I said yes, quickly.
If I’m honest, it took me a little time to fall in love with him. There weren’t trumpets signaling his arrival, or the clouds didn’t open, striking him with a ray of sunshine to signal that he was the one. It happened slowly. I moved into Evan’s small house on our seventh month of dating. He met Danny shortly before that. I think they like each other, or at least they pretend to, for me.
I glanced at my watch. Well, this report was going to have to wait. If I didn’t go home and change right now, I would be wearing my tie and coffee-stained shirt to dinner, and the pumpkin patch and I couldn’t do that. I shut down my computer and strolled out of the office, noticing a few stares as I exited. I usually worked later than this. But I refused to tonight. Tonight was all about the beginning of Halloween, my favorite holiday.
I hurried home and waved at Mrs. Markle as I passed by her house. She ran a bed and breakfast in town, and that is where Evan stayed when he first moved here. She was also my old English teacher in high school. She’s retired now and one of the sweetest people I know.
I turned the corner and decided on another quick cup of coffee before I began my night. I have a coffee problem. I can admit it. I drink it all throughout the day, and if I wanted, I could have a cup before I went to bed at night. It doesn’t keep me up at all. I’m one of those people who likes a cup of coffee after dinner.
I opened the door to Margie’s and walked inside. It was empty because they were about to close. “Crystal,” I said loudly, hoping my voice would carry into the back.
“One second. Is that you, Ev?” she bellowed.
“Yeah,” I replied. Crystal was another one of mine and Danny’s best friends. We all graduated high school together and moved back to The Pleasant after college. Crystal took over her mom’s coffee shop and now owned and managed it. It had always been her plan. She wants to expand into other tourist markets in the state. Crystal has her shit together, but she is also a wild child.
“Sup, bitch?” she asked as she threw open the door to the kitchen and sauntered out from behind the counter. “You here for some caffeine? I saved you a cup. Evan said you would probably be stopping by.”
“Of course he did,” I grinned. “How’s tricks, Trixie?”
“Oh, you know, living the dream, my friend. Actually, I have a date tonight.” She laughed, shaking her mane of wild red hair. “He has no idea for the evening he is in for.”
“Is he a tourist?” I asked, loving being a part of her gossip. I really needed to decompress.
“Yep! Staying up at the chalet on the mountain. He’s an investment banker. I swiped right, and so did he. I’m bringing rope,” she cackled. “Seriously.”
I knew she was. “Well, try not to get arrested. I’m going to the patch tonight and do not want to have to bail you out.” I stared her down. With Crystal, getting the cops called on you was always a slim possibility.
“Yeah, Evan told me. What’s up with him? He was all jumpy and shit,” she slid me my cup of coffee across the counter in a to-go container.
“Thank you.” I palmed the coffee and thought about what she said. “Yeah… It’s been a weird week. He’s been kind of squirrelly, and I think he’s about to break some bad news to me.” I said glumly.
“OK. Spill.” She walked around the counter and sat down on one of the stools. I sat down too.
“He was offered a job in Denver. It would be a big promotion, and I’ve been worried that he’s going to take it. He… uh… He doesn’t know I know, even. I saw an email he had accidentally left open on his phone.” She gave me the ‘no you didn’t’ stare. “Well, if you don’t want someone on your phone, don’t tell them the password.”
“Mmm-Hmmm,” she judged. “I mean, I guess that could be it. But you shouldn’t be so nosy either. You forget Everett, I know you…”
“I was just checking the weather. My phone was charging,” I explained. “But, I couldn’t do that, Crystal, and I know he would want to. I wouldn’t be good at the long-distance thing.”
“Well, you could move to,” she suggested. “I don’t want you to, but you could if you really love Evan as much as I think you do.”
“You know, I do… But, I couldn’t leave The Pleasant. It’s home, and I have never wanted to live anywhere else. I don’t know what to do.”
“You love him, and he loves you. That’s all that matters, honey. Love will always find a way,” she patted my hand. Crystal might be a tad crazy, but she was one of my best friends, and as much as I hated to admit it, she was also usually right.
“Is it really that simple?” I shrugged. “Could I leave everything I have ever loved to follow a man I have known for less than a year?”
“I’m getting ready to tie up a money guy and hobble him so I can bleed him dry and retire. Anything is possible,” she smiled at me condescendingly. Or perhaps she was joking. I hoped she was joking.
“I have to go. I have to change clothes, and we have dinner reservations at Owen Masters in less than thirty minutes. I guess I better not keep Evan waiting.”
“Hey. Remember Everett… Love can survive almost anything. Don’t be scared, boo. I love you and let me know if anything goes awry, okay?” She leaned in and gave me a quick peck on the cheek. Her hair tickled my face as she pulled away.
“Thanks, Crystal. Send good thoughts.” I stood up and walked towards the door.
“You too,” she called back without looking over her shoulder. “I really hope this guy is as hung as he says.”
I laughed as I headed home. After talking to Crystal, the demise of my relationship seemed like a sure bet. I was starting to hate the Fall.
Evan
My hands shook through dinner. I mean, it’s an incredibly large, life-changing thing to ask for someone to share the rest of your life with you, and I had developed a bad case of the sweats. I could feel the trickle of perspiration sliding down my back as I sat there eating the trout. Perhaps it was the red wine… No, it was totally me.
Everett was unusually quiet. He had come home and changed clothes quickly as he complained about his day, which we were both used to doing. Each of us had a fairly difficult job. Everett worked for a large development company whose goal was to bring modern architecture and amenities into resorts and small towns without effecting nature harmfully. They actually used the land and foliage as a part of the design, incorporating it into the buildings
. He loved it. But I knew it was stressful.
I worked for an investment firm. My day dealt with numbers and money and buying and selling and lots of yelling. I chose it, and I loved it. I just also liked to bitch about it. I kept moving up fairly quickly within the organization and kept being given a lot of opportunities. A big one had just come my way.
But, would Everett agree? That was the only thing I cared about right now.
It was getting closer to the time of my big reveal, and I could feel my heart speed up.
“Are you ready?” he asked quickly, excited at going to this pumpkin patch I had heard so much about.
“Uh… Sure,” I said slowly.
“You’ve been a little jumpy all night,” Everett stared at me, trying to get to the bottom of my weirdness.
“well, you’ve been quiet, and that’s a little alarming,” I frowned.
He reached over and put his hand on mine. “Jesus… Your hands are clammy. Are you feeling well?”
What was I supposed to say? “I’m about to ask you the scariest thing I could ever think to ask anyone, and I want you to tie your life to mine for the rest of our days. So yeah. My hands are clammy.” I, of course, did not say that.
“No. I feel fine,” I mused, shrugging my shoulders and offering him a half-smile. “I just have something on my mind.”
Everett looked at me, raising his eyebrows curiously. “Me too. That’s all.”
“Okay, then.”
“Okay. So, let’s go.” He pushed his chair away from the table and stood up.
I copied him. My chair made a low screeching sound as I pushed it back. It was a little embarrassing.
“I can’t wait to share this with you. You are going to love it.” Everett’s words should have sounded happy. Instead, they sounded a little sad. Something was bothering him, but I hoped that I could change his attitude when I popped the question. Maybe tonight was not the right time? Something was going on in that head of his.
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