Chapter Nine
The next day, it was Frank who woke up first.
He lay there in bed, with Sammie beside him, just watching her sleep and reflecting on the three days they’d spent together.
He felt as though he was falling deeply in love with her, as though he was ready to commit his entire life to her, to pay for her to move over here with him and get married and settle down.
He really hoped she felt the same way.
Then he was hit by wave of guilt as he reflected on what had happened yesterday evening, that had ever so slightly soured their enjoyable day together. He mulled everything over in his mind for a while, trying to figure out the best possible solution to his problems. He knew he would have to come clean with Sammie eventually, but even then, as he lay next to her, he was trying to think of the best possible way to keep the truth from her, because he was so scared of losing her for good. Surely, she would reject him if she knew…if she really knew the truth.
It wasn’t the best thought process for him to start the day on, but it was into this darkness that Sammie eventually woke. Frank was determined not to let this ruin things for them once again today, and he banished the worries from his mind as best he could, smiling down at his potential future wife.
“You look beautiful in the mornings,” he murmured, pushing some hair back off her face then leaning in and chastely touching their lips together.
“You old romantic,” she teased with a smile, but pleased with the compliment, stretching up her arms and yawning as she woke.
He pulled her gently into his chest and held her to him, the pair of them cuddling.
“I was thinking,” began Frank. “That we could go into the city today like I promised…have a look round, do some shopping, get lunch out and maybe even dinner too. We could go see a movie or something, or go watch a band, just spend the whole day out and don’t come home till after dark. Cause it’s quite the drive we’ll probably only do it the once so…we might as well make the most of it.”
Sammie’s eyes lit up with excitement. “That sounds like so much fun!”
“Great. Let’s get dressed and get going.”
They got up out of bed, got washed and changed into some fresh clothes, then made their way downstairs to get a bit of breakfast before they set off.
Then, while Sammie was getting her shoes on, Frank snatched up the New York newspaper that was still lying around from last night and shoved it into the trash can.
Sammie’s eyebrow quirked up a bit. “You haven’t even read it…”
Frank jumped a bit, looking startled and a little bit guilty as he spun round, not having realized that Sammie was actually watching him. “Oh, it’s all trash anyway,” he laughed it off. “This is where it belongs.”
His actions and reactions confirmed for Sammie that it was definitely something about that newspaper that had set off his change in temperament the day before. Had he read something in it that had upset him? Some kind of article or headline? He’d barely looked at it, so it couldn’t have been that far in. She was curious, but there was no time to think about it now, as Frank was whisking her out of the door and into the car, ready for the long drive to the city.
“You still like to keep in touch with news from New York then…” She remarked as they were driving along.
Frank tensed a little, then smirked to himself and shook his head. “Not much gets past you, does it?” He smiled fondly.
“Not much,” she agreed.
Frank reached over and turned on the radio.
For a moment, she thought he was just going to ignore her question, but then he began speaking over the soft background music.
“Yeah, I…like to keep my eye on the news from back there.”
“Do you miss it?”
“New York? Oh, I dunno. Sometimes, maybe a little. I miss my friends more than anything…I miss my friends.”
“Why can’t you see them then?”
“I dunno, just…it’s complicated.” He flashed her a small smile and shrugged. He was perfectly friendly about it, but once more, she got the impression that he didn’t want to discuss it any further.
Thankfully, a song they both adored came on the radio and she whacked up the volume. “Oh man, I love this song!”
“Yeah, me too,” he grinned. “This is like…our song! I always think about you when I hear it.”
“Me too!” She laughed, and they sang along.
***
When they eventually got into the city, with some of the streets and buildings seeming vaguely familiar to Sammie from that first afternoon when he came to collect her, Frank drove around for a while until he found somewhere suitable to park. That first day seemed so long ago now, even though it really wasn’t. She was having such a good time.
They got out of the car and Sammie retied her hair back so it was off her face, adjusted her shades then reached for Frank’s hand to link in hers.
“Where are we going?” she asked. “You’re in charge, seeing as you know this place better than I do.”
“Well…do you wanna buy any clothes while you’re here?” he asked. “I don’t mind going clothes shopping,” he added with a twinkle. “It’s not too girly for me…specially if you let me take you to some of the cowboy stores, where you can get all that typical country gear.”
“You mean like this fancy shirt you’ve got on?” She laughed and plucked at his hand embroidered cowboy shirt, with splashes of colorful swirls on the shoulders.
“Yeah, yeah,” he grinned, his eyes alight, having obviously well embraced the country lifestyle since he moved here. “That kinda stuff. You interested?”
“Totally. Yee-haw.”
He tossed his head back and laughed happily, then eagerly led her to a couple of his favorite stores, picking out some clothes for her to try on.
She was more than willing to embrace the cowboy lifestyle too, and modelled in front of the mirror trying on a bunch of different shirts until she settled on one she liked.
“You look great in it,” Frank promised her, then insisted that he would buy it for her.
“Really, it’s fine,” she argued back. “I did bring my own money.”
“I know you did, but I want to treat you. This is like…a date.”
“Ugh, alright,” she huffed after a bit more persuasion. “But you’re not paying for literally everything today. You can at least let me get lunch or something.”
“Maybe,” he narrowed his eyes. “We’ll see.”
By the time their shopping excursion was finished, it was just about time for lunch, which Frank gracefully allowed Sammie to pay for – at a burger diner in the center of town. It was a typical American place – greasy food and plenty of fries and sauce, and free refills on the soda. She ate so much and felt so full, even though it was only supposed to be a light lunch and they were going out again for another meal in the evening.
After lunch, they went for another wander around the shops, to walk off the food they’d just ate.
Frank took her to his favorite record store and comic book store and they had a good browse around, even buying one or two things, then carrying all the bags back to the car and ditching them before heading to the theater to watch a movie.
They sat at the back and held hands, sometimes kissed, it was like a stereotypical date and it made Frank feel like a teenager again, not a guy in his forties, although he did look pretty damn good for his age. Most people assumed he was in his early thirties.
They ate popcorn and nachos, and sipped from their giant cartons of coke, then, once the movie was over, decided they were too full to go for a meal, so they went to a bar instead and a beer. A band was playing and they sat and watched for a while. It was a country duo, and not really either of their type of thing, but it was nice to hear live music and they were good musicians and performers, so they appreciated it none the less.
They only stayed for one beer though, with Frank driving, plus it was getting late, so eventually they made their way back to the car and started on the long drive home.
Sammie searched through Frank’s in car CD collection and acted as the DJ, the pair chatting happily and singing along to some of their favorite songs. It had been a fun, carefree day out, and it had definitely brought them closer together as a couple.
It was just a shame it had to end so dramatically.