took me by the hand and we were off again. This time, there was no awkward silence, but instead, we talked about what we had just seen at the park. I caught myself prattling on like a schoolgirl and had to bite my tongue to stop myself.
Fifteen minutes into our drive, Stuart pulled over on the side of the road. “I need you to trust me, Amia. Here, put this over your eyes, please?” He handed me a folded bandana.
“Stuart, I don’t want to ruin our time together, but it’s kind of difficult for me to trust you.” I accepted the scarf and held it as I spoke to him.
“Please, I promise, it’s for a good reason.” His smile was so soft and real that I couldn’t help myself.
“Alright, but don’t make me regret this decision.” I smiled back at him, tied the bandana over my eyes, and sat in silent anticipation.
Ten minutes had never passed so slowly. I bounced my legs in eager apprehension as we drove to our next stop. This was an unexpected turn of events that I had not prepared for in my script. My mind raced with the possibilities of what was about to happen and how to prepare for it, but how do you prepare for the unexpected? Inhaling deeply, I placed my hands on my knees in an attempt to stop my legs from jumping like a cricket during mating season. Just as I got settled, the car stopped.
“We’re here. Just sit there for a minute, I want to prepare everything, and then I’ll come get you. No peeking!” Stuart kissed my cheek and I heard his car door open and then close again. I sat there listening to him open the trunk of the car and the sound of his footsteps as he walked away.
A few minutes later, Stuart opened the car door and took me by the hand. “Watch your step.”
“How am I supposed to watch my step when I can’t see anything?” I laughed as I answered him.
“I know it’s hard for you to trust me, but right now, you don’t have a choice.” Stuart took me by the hand and led me away from the car.
“There is always a choice, even if it is only how we choose to deal with the situation at hand.” Pulling from my script, I came up with the perfect answer.
“True and I am happy that you chose to trust me.” We stopped walking. “Okay, you can take off your blindfold.” Stuart released his grip on my hand.
I reached to untie the scarf and as I lowered it from my eyes, my breath caught in my throat. “Is this… Is this…” My thoughts were lost in the majestic view that stood before me.
“Yes, this is Bothwell Castle, the place we intended to be married.” Stuart stepped in front of me and swept me into his warm, strong embrace. Tears rolled down my cheeks as our lips met in a gentle kiss. “Why are you crying?” He kissed the tears from my face.
“Because this is too perfect, Stuart. This is what it was supposed to be and then you… then you broke my heart!” I cried harder. This time it was not happy tears though.
“Amia, I know I don’t deserve it, but I hope that one day you will be able to forgive me for the pain I caused you. I was in a dark, lonely place, and I honestly never thought I would ever meet you face to face, but here you are. You proved me wrong, and I couldn’t be happier about it.” He once again hugged me close to him in an attempt to calm me.
I cried on his chest for just a moment before gathering myself and wiping my tears. “Why now? Because I’m here? If you had just been patient, if you hadn’t lied, if you had just stuck to our plans, things would have been so different.” I felt myself starting to get angry. I took a deep breath to calm myself again. “You know what? There is no sense in talking about it now. Let’s just enjoy ourselves, okay?” I stepped back from him, turned, and looked down. That’s when I saw it.
He had laid out the perfect picnic on a red and white checkered blanket. There were lit candles surrounding the spot,
Fifteen minutes into our drive, Stuart pulled over on the side of the road. “I need you to trust me, Amia. Here, put this over your eyes, please?” He handed me a folded bandana.
“Stuart, I don’t want to ruin our time together, but it’s kind of difficult for me to trust you.” I accepted the scarf and held it as I spoke to him.
“Please, I promise, it’s for a good reason.” His smile was so soft and real that I couldn’t help myself.
“Alright, but don’t make me regret this decision.” I smiled back at him, tied the bandana over my eyes, and sat in silent anticipation.
Ten minutes had never passed so slowly. I bounced my legs in eager apprehension as we drove to our next stop. This was an unexpected turn of events that I had not prepared for in my script. My mind raced with the possibilities of what was about to happen and how to prepare for it, but how do you prepare for the unexpected? Inhaling deeply, I placed my hands on my knees in an attempt to stop my legs from jumping like a cricket during mating season. Just as I got settled, the car stopped.
“We’re here. Just sit there for a minute, I want to prepare everything, and then I’ll come get you. No peeking!” Stuart kissed my cheek and I heard his car door open and then close again. I sat there listening to him open the trunk of the car and the sound of his footsteps as he walked away.
A few minutes later, Stuart opened the car door and took me by the hand. “Watch your step.”
“How am I supposed to watch my step when I can’t see anything?” I laughed as I answered him.
“I know it’s hard for you to trust me, but right now, you don’t have a choice.” Stuart took me by the hand and led me away from the car.
“There is always a choice, even if it is only how we choose to deal with the situation at hand.” Pulling from my script, I came up with the perfect answer.
“True and I am happy that you chose to trust me.” We stopped walking. “Okay, you can take off your blindfold.” Stuart released his grip on my hand.
I reached to untie the scarf and as I lowered it from my eyes, my breath caught in my throat. “Is this… Is this…” My thoughts were lost in the majestic view that stood before me.
“Yes, this is Bothwell Castle, the place we intended to be married.” Stuart stepped in front of me and swept me into his warm, strong embrace. Tears rolled down my cheeks as our lips met in a gentle kiss. “Why are you crying?” He kissed the tears from my face.
“Because this is too perfect, Stuart. This is what it was supposed to be and then you… then you broke my heart!” I cried harder. This time it was not happy tears though.
“Amia, I know I don’t deserve it, but I hope that one day you will be able to forgive me for the pain I caused you. I was in a dark, lonely place, and I honestly never thought I would ever meet you face to face, but here you are. You proved me wrong, and I couldn’t be happier about it.” He once again hugged me close to him in an attempt to calm me.
I cried on his chest for just a moment before gathering myself and wiping my tears. “Why now? Because I’m here? If you had just been patient, if you hadn’t lied, if you had just stuck to our plans, things would have been so different.” I felt myself starting to get angry. I took a deep breath to calm myself again. “You know what? There is no sense in talking about it now. Let’s just enjoy ourselves, okay?” I stepped back from him, turned, and looked down. That’s when I saw it.
He had laid out the perfect picnic on a red and white checkered blanket. There were lit candles surrounding the spot,
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