Read Online Cheapskate in Love by Skittle Booth - Free Book Online Page A

it was
heavy and caused Bill to walk leaning forward to balance the weight. He
willingly served as the beast of burden, because he thought that was the man’s
role. But he hardly had a choice, because Linda would never offer to help.
    In the sunlight of early summer, the natural beauty of Bear
Mountain and the surrounding Hudson valley lands can fill the eyes and hearts
of people of all ages with a comfort and deep solace that no city ever can. The
majestic, wide Hudson River sparkles and surges onward, as if it were the
source of life, nourishing the abundant trees and other plant life that press
upon its shores. Even under a clouded sky, the area retains a somber, stirring
magnificence. It is a vision of earthly glory in any weather, a sight to behold
by anyone who can see.
    But first a person must lift their eyes from the ground and
look around to see the grandeur of the place. Bill trudged on the trail,
weighed down by the backpack. He was always behind Linda with his eyes cast
down at his feet, cringing inside with each step forward, and frequently
glaring at the back of Linda. She marched ahead, vigorously swinging her arms,
never looking back or talking to him.
    For hours, they walked on with only brief stops to drink water
or have a snack. Bill fell further and further behind. Sometimes when the path
curved enough, he lost sight of Linda altogether. He tried to hurry when that
happened and catch up, but the longer they hiked the less able he was to close
the distance between them. Since he rarely exercised, he tired quickly. His
dislike for walking up and down hills and indifference to nature further
dampened his ability to match Linda’s pace. Only his interest in Linda
encouraged him to keep moving, but there wasn’t enough of that to help him move
as fast as her.
    When they had been walking for over three hours, a light
rain, which the clouds had threatened all day, finally began to fall. Bill was
a hundred feet behind Linda when he felt drops of rain land on his head. This
was the moment he had been waiting for. His energy shot up, and euphoria seized
him. “Linda, Linda,” he shouted. “Can you wait a moment?” With his new-found stamina, Bill broke into a jog to catch up with
her. “Linda, wait,” he yelled, racing as much as he could with the backpack.
    Linda had heard him call her both times, but only after the
second cry did she reluctantly stop and turn around. “Walk faster,” she said,
when he caught up to her, panting.
    “I felt a few drops of rain,” Bill said. “We had better turn
back. We’re a long way from the car. It could start to pour any second now.”
    Without hesitation, Linda replied, “Give me an umbrella.”
    Thinking that they had no choice but to return to the car,
Bill pulled an umbrella out of the backpack and handed it to her, lying, “Too
bad it had to rain. It’s such a nice place to walk. The trails just go on and
on. It’s so invigorating, such good exercise. We should come here again soon.”
Bill secretly planned never to come back for any reason whatsoever.
    Linda opened the umbrella and held it over her head. “Rain
doesn’t matter,” she declared. She resumed walking on the trail in the same
direction as before.
    Bill watched her walk away, and his willpower collapsed. Without
opening an umbrella for himself, he began to follow her, more slowly than ever,
his eyes fastened on the ground. A sense of doom lay heavy upon him. He saw no
way to escape the torture Linda was inflicting upon him. By the time she tired,
he would be exhausted. He felt like a prisoner of war, deep in the enemy’s
territory, from which there was no hope of rescue. The rain began to fall a
little harder, and his hair stuck to his scalp. They were ascending a rather
steep incline, and on the right side the ground dropped away from the rocky
path precipitously.
    A drop of rain ran into his eye, and Bill looked up at the
sky to see if there was any sign of lightning. That would be a