Lake Side

            Lake Side

 

You reach for the phone and dial those 10 familiar digits and listen to the endless ringing from the receiver. Her mom picks up; you ask to speak to her daughter. The phone goes silent. You wait anxiously. You can hear footsteps in the distance, then a soft familiar voice; it’s her. You stumble for words. It’s nice outside, Care to join me for a walk? She accepts. She tells you she’ll meet you half way, in front of the lake; then the receiver goes silent. You clean yourself up a bit, change clothes, wash your face and head out the door.

 

You follow the curved road you’ve travelled many times on your ventures to her place. It’s about a 15 minute walk; you pass the elementary school filled with young spirited youth enjoying the last stretch of summer before school starts up again. As you follow the road you make your way to the front of the lake, you can see the sky’s reflection on its mirrored surface. You continue walking to see a familiar silhouette up ahead. You tilt your head, she mimics. You tilt in the opposite direction and she copies. You laugh. You both begin your walk around the lake.

 

The lake is beautiful, the sky is blue with little clouds and the sun shimmers across the surface reflecting across its surroundings. You walk out into the field behind the lake and walk up a small hill. She sits down at the top. You find your spot beside her. Things have barely become clearer since you confessed your feelings to her, she’s still trying to figure out what’s expected of this.  She leans into you and rests her head against you. This is where things get cleared up.

 

You tell her don’t want to rush anything. She tells you she needs to figure out what she wants, she likes how things are now. She doesn’t expect anything to happen anytime soon. You tell her you can wait, you just want to be someone important in her life, someone special to her. She assures you that you already are. This makes you smile. You help her understand your view on relationships. You aren’t looking for the typical relationship profile that everyone else follows. You tell her you don’t really know what you’re doing, and neither does she, you tell her to just go at our own speed and do what feels right. Off to your right, in the corner of your eye you’re interrupted by a woman and her dog. The dog is pooing  -______-

 

You realize that the temperature has dropped slightly, it’s chilly now. You wish you brought your larger hoodie. All you have is your hooded  vest. It will have to do. You take it off and wrap it around her arms, then you wrap your arms around her. You seem to be finding a lot of excuses to hold her lately, but she doesn’t mind. You decide to head back to your place.

 

You wrote another note. Hopefully this note will let her understand a little more about where you are and that you understand where she stands. As she reads through the letter you’re interrupted by your ringing phone. It’s her sister. You didn’t realize it was so late. You tell her sister you’re going to walk her home. You grab a sweater and hand it to her, it’s chilly out. She accepts. You put one on too.

 

As you walk down the dark street you can see the moon in the sky, it’s a nice orange. As you near the halfway point she tells you she never walks outside at night, it’s nice. You jokingly hint that this would be the first time she’s ever moonlit walked outside by the lake. With a boy. She laughs. You cross the road towards the lake. You wrap one arm around her and tell her that no matter what happens, you’ll always be there for her, no matter what. She hold onto your arm. As you walk along the sidewalk she gently leans in and changes course. You begin heading towards the lake side, she hints that you’re going the wrong way. You smile. You both stop in front of the lake and admire its beauty. The moons reflection shimmers across the lakes tiny ripples. Its nice. You both stand there for a moment, then she turns to head back up to the street. You reach out and pull her back in towards you. You just hold her gently. This is your first moonlit walk by the lake, and it’s perfect now.

 

You both begin your ascend back up to the lamp lit streets, this time hand in hand. You know this will probably cause her some unrest and confusion, considering you both agreed to remain close friends for now. But the moment was just right, you hope she agrees. You continue your walk all the way to her driveway. She turns and embraces you. This is where you wish you weren’t so darn tall. But she wraps her arms around your neck, and you, her waist. You missed this. She releases and hands you back your sweater. Goodnight. You watch her till she’s safe behind the confines of her home. You turn and walk home. This time you retrace your moonlit walk with her, until you’re back where it started.