Collecting Smiles

by Melody Burris

  Chapter Nineteen

  We began packing the large van and Mark’s truck on Thursday. The plan was to leave Saturday morning, spend that night with Sister Cole’s parents, and then attend church with them on Sunday. As we loaded, I was sure there was no way we were going to fit everything. All of my stuff had to be loaded as well because I was going home right after the trip. The Coles had truly become family and I was really going to miss them.

  Mark pulled everything out of the back of his truck when he got home from work. “Hey, we just packed that,” I complained. “What, are you feeling left out and you want to do the work over?” He had driven Christian’s car to work that day so that we could start the packing and now he was undoing it.

  “Nope, I’m just up to something. Go in the house and find something to do for the next hour.”

  I frowned at him. He’d been gone all day and I missed him. He saw my frown and kissed it. He took my hand and walked me into the house. “I’ll hurry, just stay in here, okay?”

  Friday was spent in last minute details. Trying to find Christian’s sunglasses and Anna’s hat, was only part of the chaos. Mark worried about his mother’s stress levels and hovered around her, helping out where he could. I focused on running Anna, Caleb and Ruth into the ground so that they would be tired for the long ride the next day. We had bike races, tree climbing contests, and my favorite – a gymnastics exhibition on the trampoline. Caleb was quite good with backward somersaults and I managed a forward flip even though I was out of practice.

  An early night was a mandate handed down from Brother Cole after dinner. We all went to bed at nine o clock so that the 6 am departure time wouldn’t be so bad. The tent had been packed away so Mark had been allowed back in his room for the last night, but Brother Cole slept in the family room right by Mark’s door. I found the precautions a little insulting … but mostly funny. Mark didn’t seem to think anything of it.

  In the morning, Mark found me waiting in line outside the bathroom. “How are you?”

  “I’m great,” I said. Listening to the voices of the family bouncing around the house was so homey. Someone was missing their shoes and another person was looking for their CD. “I get to ride with you, right?” I said, gesturing with my head towards the noise.

  He answered by drawing me into a hug and whispering in my ear, “Do you think I would let them have you? You’re all mine. They will have to fend for themselves. Besides, who’s going to drive while I sleep?” He leaned back and looked at me as he said this last part. I acted shocked and pulled away because finally it was my turn in the bathroom.

  We were all loaded up and backing out of the driveway on the start of the first Cole family vacation. It was 6:15 – not too bad for getting ten people dressed, fed and having family prayer too. I was glad that Mark and I were driving the truck together. It would give us lots of time to talk. I was nowhere near ready to let him go. The first leg of the trip was about five hours but we stopped over in Provo for an early lunch.

  Mark and I stopped in to see Mr. Wallace briefly because Mark had something he really wanted to tell him. As he walked through the door, he called, “Mr. Wallace, I brought someone to see you.”

  “What… Who is it? Marky, you're back!”

  “Actually, I just stopped by to bring you a visitor.” He pulled me through the door and I smiled at the grumpy man sitting up in a chair by his bed. “Don't get any ideas though, she all mine.” Mark wrapped his arms around me like a shield and he leaned over my shoulder and kissed my cheek.

  “Oh, she is, huh? Well it’s about time you found someone and....” he paused, looking me up and down appraisingly, “this one I don't even hate. Congratulations.”

  Such words from Mr. Wallace were high praise and I bent to give him a hug. We stayed long enough to push Mr. Wallace around the courtyard and say hi to a few other residents; then it was back to the road.

  It had been such a long day and we were all grateful to be at the Kimball's house, finally. Mark’s grandparents were funny people with lots of questions for me. Brother Kimball pulled me aside an hour after we arrived to ask me if I was in love with his grandson. The smile on his face told me that I could tease him a little bit, so I replied, “Which one?” He laughed and then placed a hand on my shoulder.

  Walking me to a quieter corner for confidentiality, he stared me down. “Answer the question, Miss.” I couldn’t help but giggle. I felt more than a little put on the spot and I was strangely reminded of Mr. Wallace.

  He continued to stare. “Yes,” I finally said. “I am very much in love with your grandson.”

  He started to pat my shoulder with his hand. “Good girl. You’re smart, too.” Then he winked at me. Shortly after that, I was rescued by Mark who had managed to hear most of the exchange and was laughing at my discomfort. He led me safely out to the kitchen.

  “Oh, yeah! Just wait. You get to meet my dad when you take me home. Grandpa in there is nothing compared to him,” I said, poking him lightly in the ribs.

  Mark looked a little nervous, but he squeezed me in close with his arm around my shoulder. “If his questions are that easy, I’ll have no problem.”

  Mark’s grandmother, Pearl, as Brother Kimball liked to call her, busied herself with trying to fatten me up. It was funny because I wasn’t exactly skinny. Sister Cole just rolled her eyes up to the ceiling at me during dinner when I was offered a third helping. I smiled and declined the extra food.

  Of course, the grand kids were hugged and doted on and fattened up as well. Brother and Sister Kimball were so happy to have everyone there, and they were happy that they weren’t the ones doing the traveling this time. We got to bed rather late considering our long day of driving. Micah wasn’t too comfortable in the different surroundings and Mark spent twice as long trying to put him to bed. Brother Cole was even singing with Mark tonight as he tried to ease his boy’s tensions.

  “Is Micah okay?” I asked as they emerged after nearly 45 minutes. I had been sitting by the door of the large guest room where Micah, Caleb, Christian, and Mark were staying.

  “He’s asleep. We’re just going to have to expect this on the trip.” He put an arm around me and led me out into the living room.

  The next morning was a jumble of people, all trying to get washed and dressed for Church. I had showered the night before so that I could avoid the Sunday rush. Being too tired to care, I had gone to sleep when my hair was still wet; consequently it was a rat’s nest. I spent a good half hour torturing the tangles. Mark knocked on the door of the large three season porch where the girls had spent the night. I sat on my sleeping bag, hair fallen forward picking through it with a vengeance. I didn’t look up, knowing that if I did, my hair would look enormous in its current state.

  “Good morning,” he called as he opened the door.

  “Hi, how did you sleep? Is everyone good this morning?” I asked feeling certain that he would know that I meant Micah.

  “Yes, we had a peaceful night. It looks like you had a visit from the crazy hair fairy, though.”

  I laughed, still not looking up. “Yeah, she and I are old friends.” Then, I winced as I hit a tangle that pulled my hair.

  “Are you okay? Can I help?” He asked walking forward.

  “Thanks, but I think I had better tackle this myself. You should go be with your grandparents. We’re leaving tomorrow and they have missed you.”

  "Well, good luck. It looks harrowing." He retreated and I sighed in relief. I wasn’t quite sure what he would make of my big, crazy mane, but I guessed he was going to see it sooner or later if we were going camping. When the tangles were gone, I braided it and joined the family for breakfast.

  The Kimballs’ ward was mostly older people. There were lots of retired folks, so the children were a special treat. I watched as Anna, Ruth and Caleb got their cheeks pinched several times just making there way to the pew where we were sitting. Used to winter visitors in Arizona, the room full of grandparents wasn’t as novel to
me as it seemed to the bewildered Ruth who looked around for anyone her age.

  “Mom, do they have Primary here?” She asked in doubt.

  Sister Cole tried to reassure her, but looking around she was suddenly unsure herself. “If not, you can come to Relief Society with me and Megan.” Ruth perked up at the possibility.

  Just before the meeting started, Mark and Caleb were asked to help pass the Sacrament. They stood without delay and walked over to sit next to the men that were already in place. In Mark’s absence, I slid my way down to Micah at the end of the bench and held his hand. He liked the hymns as the congregation sang and made contented noises.

  It was hard not to get upset when the Relief Society lesson turned in to a ‘this is what to do when you have kids’ talk, directed at me. The younger girls had been taken off to a small Primary class with their Grandma Kimball. Ruth was a little disappointed, but I was sure that she was having more fun in Primary than I was in Relief Society right now. Sister Cole quickly came to my rescue trying to get everyone back on topic. I know that I just looked like a future mother to them, but it felt like an assault and I prayed trying to calm the pain.

  Later, I told Mark about the lesson and he became anxious. I tried to soothe him rubbing my arm on his shoulder and explaining that they just didn’t understand. As soon as he realized that I was okay about it, he calmed right down. Stuff like this was going to happen a lot, I figured. Reassuring him had calmed me down too. Most of the time people meant well. I needed to learn not to let it get to me.

  After another filling dinner and an early night, we were on the road again Monday morning heading toward California. We were now spread between three vehicles because we had added the RV. Brother Cole was driving it so Christian, Rebekah and I were all taking turns in the van to help Sister Cole with the driving. I was driving the van after a gas stop just into California when Micah started to fuss. We started to sing songs, any songs we knew. It was one of the more fun times on the trip that day. I wished Mark had been there to share it with us. Some of the silliest songs came from the younger girls and I wished that there was a class that would teach me all the new kid’s songs.

  It was a long day of driving, but we reached our first destination by dinner time. We were actually staying with the Martens for the night. There were old friends of Sister Cole’s who owned an orchard. Space was limited so the boys were sleeping in the tent. The girls would all be bunking in the RV. Brother and Sister Cole would be in the house with Micah. Still, it was a beautiful farm and a fun setting to get into vacation mode.

  It felt good to stretch my legs. Mark, Christian and I put the tent up. Then we joined the rest of the family inside the small farmhouse dining room for a late dinner. Sister Marten was so excited to have a crowd to feed. “It’s just like old times.” She beamed as she placed serving bowl after serving bowl on the table.

  With our stomachs full of Sister Marten’s yummy dinner and after a long day of traveling, we were all ready for bed. Brother Cole didn’t even have to try. “To bed girls,” he gently ordered, sweeping the group with his eyes that fell on each girl in turn, including me. We all followed without an argument. “Boys, you too.”

  “Wait for me,” Mark insisted, pulling me by the hand. He put one arm around me and one arm around Ruth and we walked to the RV parked at the back of the house. Anna followed behind with Rebekah and the three girls went inside while Mark and I paused, not wanting to say goodnight. I eyed the RV dubiously and hoped that leaving the windows open would help with how stuffy it had been in there this afternoon.

  Anna poked her head out of the door and holding onto the frame for support, she said. “Are you going to kiss her, Mark?” The question was followed by a chorus of giggles from behind her.

  I blushed as Mark grabbed me in his arms. Our show was spotlighted by the flood light on the Martens’ back porch as he dipped me as if we were dancing and held me there. He paused to look up at his sisters now all watching from the door and sweetly said, “Why, yes. Yes, I am.” He gently kissed my lips to the delight of the giggling crowd and then he lifted me back up. Wobbling, I tried to plant both my feet again and he smirked. “I must be a great kisser,” he said quietly so that only I could hear, then he winked.

  Satisfied, the girls reentered the RV and made preparations for bed. I could hear Christian and Caleb arguing over who got to sleep next to the door in the tent about 30 feet away. Remembering similar arguments between the twins, I gestured with my head towards the noise and teased, “Good luck.” The glow of a flashlight was casting lively shadows on the walls of the tent and it sounded like the fight was growing intense. I turned to go get ready for bed, but Mark stopped me again.

  “I do get a goodnight kiss, don’t I?

  “You can have lots if you want, but I thought you just did that?”

  “Exactly, I just did that. I need a kiss from you. Besides that one was just being silly, it doesn’t count.” He drew me to him and we lingered on a kiss as I enjoyed the strength in his arms while he held me. Resting my head on his chest again, I sighed feeling so joyous. We were shortly interrupted by another chorus of giggles. He tried to ‘shhh’ his sisters, but it failed so he reluctantly let me go. “Sleep well. I love you.”

  “I love you, too.” With a goofy smile plastered on my face, I floated into the RV. A couple of minutes later we heard another ruckus coming from the direction of the tent. Confident that they would have a solution to their fight soon, I climbed into the bed above the driver and passenger seats with Rebekah and fell asleep still smiling.

  In the morning, after a simple breakfast of muffins and eggs, Brother Marten took us around his orchard to show us the different types of trees he grew. It was still early in the season so most of the fruit was still green. We were in luck that he had a several trees of an early ripening variety. Brother Cole lifted Anna up so that she could feel a branch that was heavy with peaches. They were not as bright in color as some peaches I had seen, but they did smell wonderful. She smiled when she felt the curly leaves and the fuzzy texture of the peaches.

  The peaches were especially fuzzy and after picking a basketful, my arms were itchy. Scratching only made it worse because the fuzz was on my hands. Brother Marten looked at me and smirked. “Most of my varieties are newer and have been bred to reduce the fuzz. This one here is an antique variety, that’s why I wear this,” he said, pointing to the long sleeve flannel shirt he was wearing. I hadn’t even considered bringing a long sleeve shirt in this summer heat. All of my clothes were packed down with my school things in the truck, but I didn’t want to disturb Mark’s neat packing job.

  The itching was bad enough that I walked back to the house leaving the rest in the orchard. Mark came with me. He was torn between concern and amusement as I scratched. “I think you may have a slight allergy,” he said as we entered the house. He took me to the kitchen sink and scrubbed my arms with cold soapy water. It felt so nice that I only halfheartedly protested that I could do it myself. He had me clean under my nails really well and then examined my arms more closely. There was indeed a raised red rash, but it was so faint it was hard to see it under my scratch marks.

  Mark and I sat out on the porch enjoying the morning and waiting for everyone to return from the orchard. “Finally,” he sighed.

  “What?” I asked laying my head against him.

  “I just missed having you all to myself.” This revelation made me happy and I lifted my head and kissed his cheek. He returned the kiss and brushed my hair gently with his fingers. “You know, I have thought a lot about touching your hair over the past few months. It is softer than I imagined.”

  I laughed, “That’s because I have to tame it with two kinds of conditioner just to get it to cooperate.”

  “I think it is so beautiful.” He leaned his face against my hair and gently brushed his cheek back and forth.

  “You’re perfect.” I said matter-of-factly.

  “Hardly.”

  “No, I’
m pretty sure. First, you think I’m wonderful despite all my… limitations and now you think my hair is beautiful. You are either perfect or very confused.”

  He hugged me in tighter. “I don’t have to be perfect to enjoy the beauty that you are. I’ve spent months trying to ignore it and I can tell you that’s much more difficult.”

  “It’s strange; I can’t imagine my life without you. Everything just seems so right when you are near me.” I was surprised that this idea wasn’t frightening to me anymore.

  “I feel the same way,” he said, squeezing me again. He was definitely affectionate like his dad seemed to be. I could see Mark giving Brother-Cole-like bear hugs to his kids as he came home from work. I started to shy from the thought, worried that I might see a boy with curly brown hair and brown eyes, but I saw instead a Cole like family with every skin and hair color represented. The brief vision was overwhelming and tears came to my eyes.

  Mark couldn’t see my face, so the tears went unnoticed. I wasn’t ready yet to share my thoughts with him on this. He had hinted at our future together and I honestly couldn’t think of life without him, but I didn’t want to freak him out. I got myself under control, then said, “Let’s go back to the orchard, I think my arms are better. He stood with me, then ran off to the tent before I could question. When he returned he was carrying a long sleeve flannel shirt similar to Brother Marten’s.

  “If we’re going back out there, I want you to cover up.” He handed me the shirt and I took it gratefully.

  We found the group sitting on a small grassy area between a couple of trees at the end of the field. Juice was running down everyone’s face and Caleb was trying to see how far he could spit the large pit. I reached for a peach, but Mark stopped me. “Megan, I’m not so sure you should.”

  “I’ve eaten peaches lots of times. It will be fine,” I protested, but he shook his head a little doubtfully.

  Brother Cole spoke up then. “Here, Mark.” He tossed Mark a small red object. It was a pocket knife. Mark smiled and grabbed a peach. He handed me the peeled peach. Juice was now running down his hands. I was a little embarrassed to be so babied, but thankful that I wouldn’t have to touch the fuzz again.

  The peach was so sweet and juicy. It tasted much better than the ones I’d had from the store. Self-consciously, I wiped the juice from my face with my sleeve and then remembered that I was wearing Mark’s shirt. I looked up at him apologetically and he laughed, “Well since it’s already dirty…” He reached around me in a hug and rubbed his sticky wet hands all over the back of the shirt. This won giggles from almost everyone except Brother Cole who cleared his throat and raised an eyebrow. Mark gave him an innocent look and released me, putting an arm around my shoulder.

  We all tromped in from the fields in the late morning. The heat was just starting to get uncomfortable. Mark and I were taking the small road back pushing Micah along the more even surface. By the time we caught up with the group (who had cut through the fields) they were in the middle of a water fight. Brother Cole was armed with the hose and happily squirting the dirt and stickiness off of anyone who got close enough. Sister Cole reappeared outside with a plastic bowl from the kitchen. While Brother Cole was focused on squirting Christian, she emptied its contents onto his back.

  Brother Cole whirled around and began to chase Sister Cole with the hose. The kids all laughed watching the exchange. Brother Marten whooped then cut the water to the hose. Finding himself unarmed, Brother Cole caught up to his wife and scooped her up into a hug, placing a kiss solidly on her lips as water from her hair dripped down their faces. It was such a perfect moment, I just watched silently.

  The rest of the week was filled with such moments. Though vacationing was new to the Coles, playing together wasn’t. Already I felt such a part of them that I didn’t want to leave. The time was going much too fast, especially my time with Mark.

  We spent the rest of the day at the zoo then settled down for another early night before we drove to the redwoods. There was a bit of fighting among the girls that night. I think everyone was just tired. “Hey guys? Why didn’t the shrimp share his treasure?”

  “It was too small?”

  “Good guess, but no. It was because he was a little shellfish.”

  The groans were loud and Mark couldn’t resist checking on us.

  “Everything okay in there?”

  “No,” Rebekah complained. “Megan is torturing us with bad jokes.”

  “Oh, if that’s all. Better you than me. Goodnight.”

  “I heard that.” I teased over all the giggles.

  The next night we spent in a beautiful campground at the foot of the mountains. The day had provided many wonderful opportunities to feel amazement at God’s creations. I sat around the campfire with the Coles who seemed much more subdued. One by one they turned in until only Mark and I were left to douse the fire.

  I crawled into the tent trying not to disturb my roommates. “Goodnight, Megan,” Anna lazily said.

  The next morning I was woken up by a little knock at the girls’ tent. “Megan, wake up.” Startled, I sat up and looked at my watch; it was 5:30. This was way too early for Mark; something must be wrong.

  I poked my head out, “Mark, what’s the matter?”

  He looked a little embarrassed, “Nothing, I just couldn’t wait any longer. Can you come out?”

  “Give me a minute.” Ruth and Anna were still asleep. Grabbing my clothes, I got dressed quietly. I unzipped the tent, tiptoed through, and zipped it up again hoping not to wake them.

  “Get your shoes,” he directed and I sat to put my shoes on. “Okay, now come with me. I want to show you something.” We walked a little ways from the camp. The sun was starting to rise, lighting the sky with yellow and orange.

  “What are we doing?”

  “Just a minute, we’re almost there.” We passed a clump of trees and came to a little clearing. It was a beautiful picture.

  “It’s amazing! What a great idea. We should wake everyone up so they can see the sunrise.”

  “Wait,” he said and walked over to an object in the distance that I hadn’t noticed.

  It was a beautiful hope chest. There was a big carved heart on the front and a goldfish on the lid. Speechless, I admired it lovingly.

  “I made this for you, because I love you and because you bring so much hope into my life that I wanted to give some back to you.” He opened up the lid and down inside was a ring box. Pulling it out he said, “Please, marry me and I will try to fill your life with hope the way you fill mine with beauty and joy.”

  I jumped into his arms and whispered in his ear, “You can never have too much hope. Yes! Yes! Yes! I love you!” He squeezed me tight and spun me around. “You are such a blessing to me. I can’t believe how happy I feel right now.”

  I touched the hope chest running my fingers over the carving. He laughed, “I did them myself. You can see I’m not very good, but it’s the thought, right?”

  I put my finger on his lips, “Shh,” I said. “It’s wonderful. I will treasure it. Thank you.”

  “I wasn’t sure I could get it here without you seeing it. Lucky for me you didn’t get nosy.”

  “Is this what the repack was about?”

  “Yeah, I was lucky to get it done in time. I finished late Wednesday night.”

  “And this?” I asked holding up my left hand that now held my ring.

  “Got it on my lunch hour, last week. Is it okay?

  “Aside for the fact that it is incredibly beautiful, it means I get to keep you; so, it’s perfect.”

  He beamed and I braced myself for another bear hug.

  “Shall we go tell the family?” He scooped me up off my feet and carried me back through the trees.

  “What about my hope chest?”

  “It will be okay for a few minutes.”

  My mind shifted into planning mode and I blurted out my questions. I could always ruin a romantic moment. “But what about the wedding? When?
Where?”

  “Well, I won’t settle for anything less than forever so it will definitely be in the temple. Other than that, you can pick. I’ll be there wherever it is.”

  I giggled and he gave me a quick peck on the lips. The he bellowed, “Wake up, guys!” I looked at my watch it was only a quarter ‘til 6. Given the time, I buried my face in his shoulder and prepared for grouchy faces to appear.

  Christian and Caleb were the first to emerge from the boys’ tent. They stumbled out of the flap as if they had been spinning in circles for hours. I laughed at their groggy expressions and then was stunned as Christian woke up enough to take in the scene. “You finally did it!” he shouted. “It’s about time, Bro.”

  I looked up at Mark, curious about how long he had been thinking about this. He reddened slightly but then his eyes flicked to the RV door that was opening. “What? We missed it?” Rebekah complained as she came down the little steps. Brother and Sister Cole were sitting next to the camper door and they were both smirking.

  “I knew you couldn't stick to the plan,” Sister Cole said.

  “Plan?”

  “He was supposed to do it in front of the family before he left for the backpack trip.” Brother Cole explained.

  “I just couldn't wait!” Mark beamed. All this time he had not put me down and I was starting to feel a little silly. My attempts to wiggle free only made him hold me tighter. “Stay, please. I’m not ready to let go yet,” he whispered in my ear. I gave up and my head back on his shoulder. I would just have to look silly a little longer. For Mark, I could deal with that.

  Finally, all the noise woke up the little girls and they came out to see what was going on. Mark smiled and said, “At least I get to tell someone. Megan and I are getting married!”

  Ruth took one look at me in him arms and said, “Right now?”

  “No, I wish, but we have to wait,” he said, then put me down on the ground.

  “Can I be at your wedding?” Anna asked me.

  “Sorry, but were going to be sealed in the temple. You can be in the pictures and at the reception, though. We can even get you a pretty new dress,” I said.

  “I’ve been in the temple. I got sealed to Mom and Dad,” Anna answered. “It’s wonderful.”

  I brushed my hand along her hair and said, “I think it’s wonderful, too.”

  Mark sent Christian and Caleb to get the hope chest. Brother Cole gave me a real, feet-off-the-ground bear hug, my first from him. “Welcome to the family,” he said, tearing up.

  Sister Cole gave me a hug too, and then hugged Mark. She held him a long time. “I don’t know what I’m going to do without you. I’ll miss you, kid,” she said.

  “You don’t need me, Mom. You’ve had things running smoothly for years. You just let me help to keep me out of your hair.” They laughed and she wiped her eyes.

  “Well, since you woke everyone up so early, we may as well get started on breakfast. I’m glad this vacation is going to be so cheap, since we have wedding travel ahead.” Sister Cole busied herself getting the food for breakfast.

  Mark pulled me in one more embrace and kissed my left hand, touching the ring there. “I’ll be back.” Then he went off to pack my hope chest safely back into the truck. I went to help make breakfast.

  After we’d packed everything up, we drove to Yosemite. I was tempted to call my parents and tell them the news, but doing it in person seemed so much more fun.

  Christian and Mark left for their overnighter right after breakfast the next morning. I tried to get into the planned activities for the day, but I was very distracted. If I missed Mark so much now, what were the next six weeks going to be like?

  The Coles, minus the two oldest boys, wandered around the park enjoying. In the afternoon, Brother and Sister Cole even got to take a walk by themselves while Rebekah and I kept everyone else busy.

  I spent that night tossing and turning. I woke up every couple of hours and checked my watch. I thought about the trail the guys were on and pictured them nestled down in their sleeping bags. Everyone else was sleeping, I tried to go back to sleep, too.

  With the dawn I was up and wondering the camp. There was nothing to do really. We would be staying another night so packing up was unnecessary and Sis. Cole had insisted the camp be cleaned up before we went to bed.

  I took the quiet time to read my scriptures and ponder on the way Heavenly Father had blessed my life in such a short time. When I considered the answers I’d received to my prayers, I was humbled. There were so many people in my life he’d used to answer my prayers.

  By the afternoon the brothers had returned and I was at Mark’s side again.Around the campfire that night, we were rewarded with the tale of Christian and the bear. Apparently, he had excused himself for a call of nature at sunset last night and had seen a bear in the distance. Hurrying back to Mark, the two double checked the campsite to make sure they didn’t have any food around.

  “So glad we listened to you and strung our food up for the night in some trees away from our sleeping bags,” Christian said to me shaking his head. “We heard the bear trying to get to it in the middle of the night.”

  “Yeah, it was pretty scary,” Mark agreed. “But lucky for us, Christian smelled bad enough that the bear stayed away.” This last comment won Mark a wadded shirt to the head. Christian was chuckling and shirtless.

  Brother Cole broke up the party before Mark could retaliate. “Come on, son. I want some help repacking the van for tomorrow.” Mark kissed me on the forehead then ran off to help his dad.

  The next morning we were heading home. “You know last night when I helped my dad?” Mark spoke up as we drove.

  “Yes?”

  “He wanted to have ‘the talk’ with me.” He grinned as he looked to see my reaction.

  “Really? How did that go?” I asked, my eyes wide.

  “Just fine. He was more concerned with making sure I treated you like a treasure than about the physical stuff. I told him not to worry because he had set that example for me my whole life.” Mark teared up a little as he spoke.

  I nodded agreement with this. “Plus, I think you have a natural talent for making me feel special.” I pulled his hand up to kiss it. “Gee, I wonder what kind of talks I’ll get when I go home.”

  “I guess we will find out. Your Dad is smaller than mine, right?” Mark asked sounding nervous. I laughed and he rolled towards the window for a nap.

  “Hi, how long was I out?” He sat up and his face was lined from where he had been resting it on the window.

  “About three hours. We are almost to the Arizona border. Feel better?”

  “Yes, do you need me to drive?”

  “Nope, I have the hang of it now. Thanks for teaching me.”

  “Yeah, I’m really glad you know how. It saves me from having to teach you this winter.” Funny, it hadn’t occurred to me yet that I would be driving the truck a lot more once we were married.

  “Hey, Megan. How quickly do you think you could plan a wedding?”

  I smiled at him, my thoughts running along the same lines. “It wouldn’t take too long. When do you want to do it?”

  “Soon, I can’t think of anything I want more than you for eternity. I am ready to make you mine right now.”

  “August?” I asked, mentally crunching the numbers.

  “YES!” I smiled at his enthusiasm and he kissed my hand.

  “Mom is going to kill me for the short notice, but we can do it. Where?”

  “Utah’s part way for each family and yours has to get you to school anyway right?”

  “Provo?”

  “I will call the temple as soon as we get to your house.”

  “We should probably tell my family first.”

  “Yeah, you’re probably right.”

  “It’s funny, even though I am going home, I feel like my home is here with you.”

  “A home!” Mark said, slapping his hand to his forehead. “I guess I will look for an apartment on m
y way back to Idaho, too. So many things to do.”

  I laughed, “Nothing too expensive. We are going to need to start our savings. With any luck maybe we will have enough to adopt when we graduate.” He smiled widely at this and squeezed my hand.

  What an amazing gift I was being given. My heart soared in prayer, thanking my Heavenly Father for strengthening my weakness, and sending me someone who could love me for who I am.

  About the Author

  Melody Burris once ventured deep down into the crust of the earth, only to find that she was claustrophobic. She stood on the rim of the Grand Canyon, only to discover she was afraid of heights. Now she creates a world of narrative where she can be as brave as she wants. She loves to live in this imaginary world whether she is reading or writing she can conquer any fear, brave any test and triumph in the end. Melody occasionally comes out of this world to brave a hiking trail, a trip to the big city, or dinner with the family.

  She’s almost brave enough to answer her emails at melody.burris@gmail.com. Put [Megan] in the subject line to help it through the spam filters.