Noah was sitting in his rocker, drinking sweet tea, listening for the car, when he finallyheard it turn up the drive. He went around front and watched the car pull up and parkbeneath the oak tree again. Same spot as yesterday. Clem barked a greeting at hercar door, tail wagging, and he saw Allie wave from inside the car. She stepped out,patted Clem on the head while she cooed at her, then turned, smiling at Noah as hewalked toward her. She looked more relaxed than yesterday, more confident, andagain he felt a slight shock at seeing her. It was different from yesterday, though.
Newer feelings now, not simply memories anymore. If anything, his attraction for herhad grown stronger overnight, more intense, and it made him feel a little nervous inher presence.
Allie met him halfway, carrying a small bag in one hand. She surprised him by kissinghim gently on the cheek, her free hand lingering at his waist after she pulled back.
"Hi," she said, radiance in her eyes, "where's the surprise?"
He relaxed a little, thanking God for that.
"Not even a 'Good afternoon' or 'How was your night?'"
She smiled. Patience had never been one of her strongest attributes.
"Fine. Good afternoon. How was your night? And where's the surprise?" Hechuckled lightly, then paused. "Allie, I've got some bad news."
"What?"
"I was going to take you someplace, but with those clouds coming in, I'm not sure weshould go."
"Why?"
"The storm. We'll be outside and might get wet. Besides, there might belightning." "It's not raining yet. How far is it?" "Up the creek about a mile."
"And I've never been there before?" "Not
when it was like this."
She thought for a second while she looked around. When she spoke, her voice wasdetermined.
"Then we'll go. I don't care if it rains." "are you sure?"
"Absolutely."
He looked at the clouds again, noting their approach. "Then we'd better go now," hesaid. "Can I bring that in for you?"
She nodded, handing her bag to him, and he jogged to the house and brought itinside,where he placed it on a chair in the living room. Then he grabbed some breadand put it in a bag, bringing it with him as he left the house. They walked to the canoe,Allie beside him. A little closer than yesterday.
"What exactly is this place?"
"You'll see."
"You're not even going to give me a hint?" "Well," he said, "do you remember whenwe took the canoe out and watched the sun come up?" "I thought about it thismorning. I remember it made me cry."
"What you're going to see today makes what you saw then seem ordinary." "Iguess I should feel special."
He took a few steps before responding.
"You are special," he finally said, and the way he said it made her wonder if he wantedto add something else. But he didn't, and Allie smiled a little before glancing away.
As she did, she felt the wind in her face and noticed it had picked up since themorning. They reached the dock a moment later. After tossing the bag in the canoe,
Noah quickly checked to make sure he hadn't missed anything, then slid the canoe tothe water. "Can I do anything?"
"No, just get in."
After she climbed in, he pushed the canoe farther into the water, close to thedock. Then he gracefully stepped off the dock into the canoe, placing his feetcarefully to prevent the canoe from capsizing. Allie was impressed by his agility,knowing that what he had done so quickly and easily was harder than it looked.
Allie sat at the front of the canoe, facing backward. He had said something aboutmissing the view when he started to paddle, but she'd shaken her head, saying shewas fine the way she was. And it was true.
She could see everything she really wanted to see if she turned her head, but mostof all she wanted to watch Noah. It was him she'd come to see, not the creek. Hisshirt was unbuttoned at the top, and she could see his chest muscles flex with everystroke. His sleeves' were rolled up, too, and she could see the muscles in his armsbulging slightly. His muscles were well developed there from paddling everymorning. Artistic, she thought. There's something almost artistic about him whenhe does this. Something natural, as if being on the water were beyond his control,part of a gene passed on to him from some obscure hereditary pool. When shewatched him, she was reminded of how the early explorers must have looked whenthey'd first discovered this area.
She couldn't think of anyone else who remotely resembled him. He wascomplicated,almost contradictory in so many ways, yet simple, a strangely eroticcombination. On the surface he was a country boy, home from war, and he probablysaw himself in those terms. Yet there was so much more to him. Perhaps it was thepoetry that made him different, or perhaps it was the values his father had instilledin him, growing up. Either way, he seemed to savor life more fully than othersappeared to, and that was what had first attracted her to him.
"What are you thinking?"
She felt her insides jump just a bit as Noah's voice brought her back to the present.
She realized she hadn't said much since they'd started, and she appreciated thesilence he had allowed her. He'd always been considerate like that.
"Good things," she answered quietly, and she saw in his eyes that he knew she wasthinking about him. She liked the fact that he knew it, and she hoped he had beenthinking about her as well.
She understood then that something was stirring within her, as it had so many yearsago. Watching him, watching his body move, made her feel it. And as their eyeslingered for a second, she felt the heat in her neck and breasts, and she flushed,turning away before he noticed.
"How much farther?" she asked.
"Another half mile or so. Not any more than that."
A pause. Then, she said: "It's pretty out here. So clean. So quiet. It's almost like goingback in time."
