A Country Mile

Her heart pounded in her chest and her mind raced with excitement as
Mike maneuvered the van along the winding country road. She drank in
the scenery from her seat on the passenger side of the van. The crisp,
fall weather made this an ideal day for a long, happy ride through the
back-roads of Tennessee. How she loved this time of year! As they rode
along, Gwen thrilled at the shapes of the large billowy clouds that
ambled across the sky. She savored the sight of the trees adorned in
their autumn colors: amber, copper, bronze. She marveled at the clarity
of the evening sunlight that slanted between the clouds in long, golden
rays. Yes, she thought, this is a perfect day for a ride!
If Gwen's day was not perfect already, one thing made it even better:
she was sharing it with the man that she loved more than anyone else in
the whole world! She looked over at him, watching him as he drove. Her
attention was first drawn to his pale gray eyes, which were keenly set
on the road ahead. Next, her attention was drawn to the gentle slope of
his nose, to the curve of his cheek, and then to the angle of his jaw.
Her loving gaze moved from his face to the curl of his thick, black
hair. What a handsome man he is!
Watching him closely, she thought back to the moment, earlier in the
day, when the phone rang and this wonderful thirty-eight year-old
divorcee had informed her that he wanted her to join him on this
afternoon's excursion. She remembered how her heart had leapt in her
chest when she had picked up the receiver and had heard his voice on
the other end of the line. She could still smell the scent of his skin
and his cologne from the time that he had hugged her as he picked her
up at the end of her driveway earlier that afternoon; she thought, What
a manly smell he has!
Lost in her reverie, she almost did not catch his sidelong glance at
her. Had she been staring at him? Had he seen the way she had been
looking at him? These were questions that crowded her mind as she
quickly lowered her eyes, blushing.
"I'm so glad that Mom was out when you called," she blurted to hide her
embarrassment. "She would've tried to keep me home if she had known
that I was going to be going somewhere with you."
His smile faded as he said: "Listen, Gwen... I don't care whether your
mother likes me or not, I will NOT let her keep me from seeing
you!"
There was a moment of tense silence. Mike finally spoke, saying
"Gwen... Honey.... I'm sorry for that outburst. I didn't mean to sound
so angry." He had started speaking calmly, but his voice became more
and more emphatic as he continued, "It's just that she has tried to
keep us apart for so long; there's no way I'm going to let her come
between us!"
"I love you," she said quietly, almost apologetically.
"I love you too, sweetheart," he answered, folding his big hand around
hers. She trembled with excitement at his touch.
They spent the next little while riding along in silence, each soaking
in the beauty and wonder of the day. Gwen's eyes feasted on the
changing colors and the rolling landscape, but they were continually
drawn away to the profile of the man beside her in the driver's seat.
She couldn't believe how fortunate she was be alone with such a
gorgeous man.
When Mike finally slowed the van and turned it down a dusty gravel
road, Gwen realized that she had no idea where they were going. "It's a
surprise" was his answer when she asked.
The van bounced slowly along the rutted road, which wound down a slight
incline until the trees parted at the edge of a broad lake. Brilliant
sunlight reflected from its surface, causing Gwen to shade her eyes
with her hand.
"You brought me to see the sunset!" she exclaimed.
"That's right," he said, taking her hand as they got out. "But there's
something else."
"Something else? What? What?"
He grinned at her excitement. "There's something important I want to
talk to you about."
She could barely contain her excitement. "Tell me!"
Mike took both of Gwen's hands and turned her so they faced each other.
Her stomach lurched with excitement as she looked up into his soft gray
eyes; she felt as if elephants were playing hopscotch in her
tummy.
"I didn't know how to say it," he began, "but I wanted everything to be
just right."
"What is it?" she begged.
He shifted his weight from one foot to the other and adjusted his grip
on her hands. "Okay. Here goes.... Do you remember Melanie... from my
office? Well, I asked her to marry me yesterday. And she said yes! I
wanted you to be the first to know!"
Gwen was speechless. Her mouth opened and closed, but nothing would
come out. Her mind skipped from one thought to another, and then on to
another. Not one of them expressed how she really felt.
At last, with her heart drumming in her ears, she blurted out the first
thought that she could put together into a complete sentence: "Oh
Daddy! That's so wonderful!" She jumped up and hugged her father's
neck. "She's such a nice lady! I think you two will be so happy
together! I love you, Daddy!"