Meredith

Ordinarily, I look forward to a wake up a text from Gabe. It’s a great start to my day. This morning though, I’m less enthusiastic. A surprise road trip isn’t at the top of my bucket list and I’m exhausted. But seeing the blue gem sparkling on my finger, reminds me that his last surprise worked out pretty well, so maybe I’m just too tired to be excited. I drag myself out of bed and pop into the shower, hopeful the warm water will be a shot in the arm.

I shut off the faucet and step out of the shower, doing my best not to yawn as I wrap up in my towel. The ventilation fan lost its battle against the wafts of hot steam hanging heavy in the air. The condensation fogs up the mirror. I clear a face-sized circle in the glass and go about getting myself ready for Gabe.

I try out a few different hairstyles, searching for one that will cooperate with the mop on my head. My makeup is minimal, the jeans and blouse I choose are uninspiring, but seeing as I’m fighting a queasy belly, have no idea what the day ahead holds, and had approximately an hour to put myself together, I give a small nod of approval to the mirror before shutting off the bathroom light and grabbing my shoes. The notification light on my phone blinks, indicating an unread message.

Gabe: Five minutes out. Hope you’re ready.

I check the time. Shit. That was ten minutes ago. Shoes in hand, I race down the hall and look out the kitchen window. Sure enough, his truck is in the driveway. At least he didn’t honk this time.

My mother looks up from the stove. “Where are you running off to so early? I was just heating up a pan to make you some breakfast.”

“Sorry Mom. Gabe’s waiting outside to take me on a surprise adventure.” I pause, caught by a feeling of déjà vu. “You wouldn’t know anything about this, would you?” I cross my arms and tap my toe.

She smiles. “No, dear. I promise, I don’t know anything about this one.” My mother has the worst poker face of anyone ever and, judging by her reaction, I’m inclined to believe her.

“Alright. Well, I better go. Wish me luck,” I say, crossing my fingers before I hug her goodbye. “I have no idea when I’ll be home, but I’ll text if it’s going to be late. Love you.” I pull the door closed behind me.

* * *

I put my hand on Gabe’s knee. “Sweetheart. Honey. Love.”

Gabe keeps his eyes on the road ahead. “Oh boy.”

I continue. “We’ve been on the road for over two hours. I was patient through breakfast, even with your incessant giggling about how much I was going to love the surprise. Even after you refused to give any hints about our destination.”

Gabe nods. “That’s true.”

“Well. Now my patience has officially run out. So, spill already!” I slap his knee. “Where are we going?”

Gabe’s eyes never leave the road, but he does crack a smile as he confesses. “We’re headed down to the Springs.”

“Colorado Springs?” I ask, surprised by his answer.

“Yep.”

I twist in my seat, folding my arms across my chest. “As lovely as the area is—I have to ask—why are we taking a last-minute trip to Colorado Springs?”

Gabe takes a deep breath, holds it, and exhales before answering. “You’ll see, Doll. Just be patient.”

Grrrr. Didn’t we just cover the fact that I’m all out of that?

“Okay, let’s compromise. If I guess the place, or places, on our itinerary, you have to admit it. Deal?”

Gabe strokes his chin as he considers my request. “Deal,” he answers, confidently.

“Garden of the Gods?” I ask.

“Cold.” Gabe chuckles.

“Hmm.” I look out the window as I try to recall all the different tourist attractions. “Pikes Peak?”

“Colder. Like, not even close.” Gabe smiles. “We can do this all day, but you’ll never guess.”

He’s right. I try several other places that all get me nowhere. The last hour of our drive passes in silence except for Gabe’s quiet humming along with the radio while I sit in my seat, stewing about being left in the dark.

This better be some awesome damn surprise, bub. Or else.

Gabe pulls out his phone and enters an address into his navigation app. I peek at the destination, but don’t recognize it. When we exit interstate twenty-five and head west, away from Colorado Springs, any remnants of fun or excitement about this adventure are gone. “Okay, Wilde. That’s it.” I point at the clock on the dash. “It is after twelve so, including stops for food and fuel, we’ve been on the road for almost four hours. This stopped being fun a long time ago—and I have to pee. Please…tell me where the hell we are going.”

Gabe appears equally frustrated when he looks over. “Almost there.” A few minutes later, we exit the highway and turn onto a side street. He points towards a newly developed subdivision ahead. “See that place up on the right?”

I follow the line between his finger and a modern looking duplex. “Yeah?”

Gabe stops the truck at the end of the short driveway. “Well?” He’s practically bouncing in his seat with excitement. “What do you think?”

“I think whoever lives here probably won’t appreciate us blocking their driveway.”

Gabe dismisses my comment with the wave of his hand. “I doubt that, seeing as no one lives here. Yet.”

“How do you know that? And, if no one lives here then why are we here?”

“Well. I called and spoke to the property management company on my way to pick you up and the place is ours, if we want it. I just have to give them the deposit and we can pick up the keys.”

Confusion, fear, excitement, each emotion takes a turn wrenching my stomach into knots. “What are you talking about?”

“Us, Doll. Our future. I spent all night looking at places online, and I thought you’d fall in love when you saw this one. There’s no way pictures could do it justice, plus this is a pretty hot area, so if we want the place, we’re gonna have to act fast. Hence…our road trip.”

“Gabe. Hon?” I pause as I look over the duplex, appreciating the spacious backyard, the two-car garage, and the hip, comfortable vibe of the neighborhood. He’s right. I do love it. I could easily see us starting our family here. Under different circumstances, anyway. “Don’t you think the drive back and forth to the ranch would be a little far for you?” The question is as much a joke as it is a gauge, to measure his response as I try to decipher the meaning of this surprise.

“Back and forth to the ranch?” Gabe shakes his head. “God yes. That would be awful. But that’s the best part, Doll. I won’t be driving back and forth to the ranch. Not regularly, anyway.”

“Oh yeah? How do you see this working, then?”

Unable to hide his frustration any longer, Gabe shifts the truck into gear and pulls away without a word.

“Where are you taking me now?”

“So much for surprising you.” Gabe takes a breath. “Honestly, I thought you’d be a little more receptive to the idea, all things considered.” His words are surprisingly harsh.

“So that’s it? We’re just driving back? Four hours down, five minutes here, and four hours back?”

Gabe growls before he speaks. “You said you needed to use the bathroom, right?”

I nod.

“Well?” He turns into a gas station and parks in front of the building. “Here you go.”

I do my business, and as I walk back towards the truck I’m trying to see the situation from Gabe’s perspective. Am I just not following his line of thinking? Is there more to this? I climb in and try to salvage the situation. “We drove all this way. Before we head home, why don’t we find some place to talk. You can try and help me understand your plan. Okay?”

Gabe doesn’t speak. He nods in agreement and pulls out his phone to find somewhere nearby where we can go. The man is deflated, and trying his best to hide it. Like a kid whose big red balloon just drifted out of his hand. Neither of us speak on the short drive to Red Rock Canyon.

“Keep your eye out for some place where we can park, okay?” Gabe asks as we turn in.

We make our way through the most amazing scenery. “There.” I point to an empty spot off to our left.

Gabe pulls up, shifts the truck into park, and kills the engine. As he unfastens his seatbelt, Gabe looks at me for the first time since leaving the duplex. “Feel like a hike?” Gabe takes my hand in his as we walk side by side up the trail. Finally, he clears his throat and finds his voice. “Mer—You say no one listens to you, but that’s not true. I hear you. That’s what this is. This is me, hearing you and taking steps to give you what you wanted.”

I step back. “Excuse me? When did I ever mention wanting to move to Colorado Springs?”

“Fine. But you know what I mean. How many times have you gone on and on about how you didn’t come back to Logan county to settle down?”

Maybe it’s just me here, but this is beginning to feel like my own words are being used against me. Twisting them to make this my fault. And it’s kind of pissing me off.

“Okay. I fail to see how that statement, however many times I may have made it, gets us here.”

Gabe’s eyes narrow. I know the look. He’s pissed. But this is the first time he’s looked at me that way in eighteen years. “Do you want to spend the rest of your life confined to the room you grew up in?”

I cross my arms over my chest. “Obviously not.”

“Well. You’re tired of constantly defending every decision you make to your parents, aren’t you?”

I nod.

“And you don’t see a lot of career opportunities for yourself back there, do you?”

“Gabe, it’s…”

“Hang on now,” Gabe interrupts. “You said you wanted to understand, right?”

His words are cold, and his tone is making me angrier by the minute. I nod again.

“Well. Down here…you pick a direction and I’ll bet you anything you want, within ten miles you’ll find at least two companies hiring people like you. Or don’t work at all. That’s up to you, but at least here, you have the choice.”

Anxiety wells inside me. “What about you? Suppose we did move. What would you do for work?”

Gabe’s eyes light up. “I’m glad you asked. I’ve got that covered too. I reached out to some old business associates from my construction days down here.”

“And?”

“And…the guy who bought my old company just so happens to be looking for a foreman to head up one of his crews.”

“Gabe, I think we need to pump the brakes a second. You would leave your family, just like that?”

Gabe crinkles his brow. “I don’t understand, Mer. What’s the problem? Don’t you like it here?”

“Well, I mean…from what I’ve seen so far—which would mostly be this park—sure, it’s wonderful. But, you’re suggesting we upend our entire lives, yours most of all by the way, and move hundreds of miles away. Have you thought this through?”

Gabe steps back, offended by my words. “What have I not thought through? I was up all night thinking this through. Please, explain to me where exactly, I missed a step and fucked up? Have you changed your mind and decided you want to live the rest of your life in Logan county? Do you like being under the constant scrutiny of your parents? Do you have a lead on a career opportunity back there? Because that would certainly be news to me.”

My hands move to my hips. I don’t like the way he’s talking to me like…like everyone else does.

Gabe looks at his feet and exhales a deep breath through his nose. “Apparently, this was a bad idea.” His tone drops to just above a whisper. “We should start for home.” He reaches for my hand, but in my anger and confusion about what’s happening, I jerk away. I don’t intend it to come off as shitty as it does, but I’m frustrated and trying to process the magnitude of the situation.

“Fine,” he says as he turns back on the trail. “I’m leaving.”