“You mean to tell me with all of the life experiences you have managed to accumulate in your eighteen years, you have never taken a dip in a mud hole out in the middle of the woods?” Hailey laughed.
“To tell you the truth, it’s not really something I have ever aspired to check off my bucket list,” Grant sighed as he pulled off his socks. When he glanced over at Hailey and saw her floating there in the water, the sun shining down on her, he smiled. “But, on second thought, I should really set higher goals.”
“Now you’re talkin’,” Hailey laughed.
Grant stood, looking all around him, taking a mental snap shot of the fall leaves on the ground, the way the sun seemed to shine down between the trees illuminating the pond as a very slight breeze made tiny ripples across the top of the muddy water. He recalled being in northern Spain and having the opportunity to try his hand at fly fishing amidst the very landscape where some of Hemingway’s most glorious works were set. The surrounding mountains were breathtakingly majestic; there was great clarity to the water; the ambiance was harmonious and tranquil. He remembered spending his morning having breakfast at a panadería, followed by mid-morning spent navigating a small stream where, after much coaching, he caught a small trout.
It was a field trip like no other. At lunch he sat on his knees amongst a group of profound old men, in a café, eating bread and cheese with his soup, and being allowed to take a sip of Otto’s robust, red wine. He missed his old tutors more than anyone probably realized. As a young boy, they were his closest friends, his most trusted confidants, and the inspiration that had shaped him into an independent and broadly educated young man who had the world at his fingertips; the memories that he shared with Otto and Ludwig were irreplaceable, and the lessons they taught him were invaluable.
Grant looked up at the clear sky and closed his eyes. He had been places that many people only read about in books, but, as he glanced back down toward the water at Hailey floating along, unhindered by his extended moment of reflection, he started to believe that the greatest memories of his life might be unfolding around him there in a little place that the most well-traveled of his compadres had never heard of. He nodded affirmatively to himself. He had traveled to six continents, visited numerous capitals and seen the Great Wall of China, the Pyramids of Egypt, the Roman Colosseum and other wonders of the world, but, as he glanced over at a small, wooden sign staked in the ground with sloppily written letters formed of green paint that spelled out LITTLE CREEK POND, he truly believed that one day when he thought back over the most enlightening travels of his life, he would have to leave a spot at the top of his list for Hope Hull, Tennessee.
“What are you thinking?” Hailey asked curiously.
“Oh, nothing,” Grant shook his head. He pulled his jersey over his head and stared reluctantly at the water. As he stepped in, he felt mud squish between his toes. A smile on his face, he maneuvered into waist deep water.
Hailey disappeared under water and popped back up with a handful of slimy mud.
“What are you doing?” Grant shook his head as he backed away from her.
Hailey plastered her hand on Grant’s chest and smeared the mud around with her fingertips.
Grant slowly reached down into the water and came up with a handful of mud, grinning widely all the while.
“Don’t do anything you’ll regret,” Hailey warned him with a wink as she waded into his arms.
Grant laughed as he massaged the mud into her shoulders and down her arms. “I’ve heard that mud wrestling is incredibly therapeutic.”
“Ooh, interesting!” Hailey exclaimed, pecking him on the lips and quickly swimming away. “Thanks for the tip! I’ll have to try that with my next boyfriend!”
Grant splashed her with a giant wave of water, and she giggled as she used both hands to splash him back. They swam and splashed for nearly an hour, laughing and throwing mud.
“Come here, you,” Grant laughed as he popped up from under the water. Hailey squealed as he grabbed her by the waist and lifted her out of the water and screamed as he tossed her back in with a splash.
She removed her ponytail holder and put it around her wrist. She smoothed her wet hair back, her heart racing as she slowly waded back toward Grant.
Grant pulled Hailey close to him, and she draped her arms around his neck. One arm around her waist, he gently stroked the side of her face. “You have no idea what you do to me, Hailey Jane,” he whispered. Hailey closed her eyes as his lips met hers. Grant lifted her out of the water, and Hailey wrapped her legs securely around him. For a moment Hailey pulled her lips away, knowing for the first time in her life what it meant for the power of a kiss to take your breath away. Grant put his hands on her cheeks and drew her back into a long kiss. With Hailey in his arms, their lips never parting, he waded toward the bank. Carrying Hailey as he crawled ashore, Grant eased her onto the grass, his body gently covering hers as he kissed her. With one fluid motion Grant rolled onto his back, propelling Hailey on top of him, her flat tummy pressed against his abs. Hailey could feel the warmth of their bodies pressed together. Grant ran his hands up the back of her thighs and let them rest against her backside. It startled Hailey at first, but she was focused on making sure her tongue responded properly to a kiss she had no experience with but Grant seemed to be an expert at. Even as she kissed him, her mind raced and her heart pounded so hard that she wondered if Grant could feel it.
Minutes later, lying beside Grant, snuggled up to him, his arm around her, their legs intertwined, Hailey was tangled up in a kiss that she did not want to end but knew could not continue.
“Grant, what are we doing?” Hailey asked softly between kisses.
“I don’t know. You tell me,” Grant replied as he met her lips with another kiss.
Hailey’s heart raced, and she moved away, embarrassed. She looked around as though she half-expected to see an audience of finger-wagging elders, all glaring down at her, disappointed in her lack of self-control. She could preach abstinence with the best of them, but, in the moment, saying no wasn’t nearly as easy as she had thought it would be. She had always wondered what could make a self-respecting girl give in to the tempting touch of some boy with just one thing on his mind. Now…she knew. Hailey was so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t notice Grant scoot closer to her. “You okay?” he whispered as he kissed her cheek.
“Yes… No… I don’t know,” Hailey blurted. She stood up and practically ran back into the water, creating a big splash and calling, “we should get home,” as she swam toward the opposite bank.
“Hailey,” Grant sighed as he followed her, but, by the time he caught up to her, she had put on her jersey and was handing him his.
Grant pulled his jersey over his head and reached down for his shoes, irritated.
“Grant?” Hailey said, reaching for his hand before he picked up the shoes. She took his hand in hers and smiled up at him so sweetly that he couldn’t help but smile back. “Please don’t be mad at me; things were just moving way too fast for me.”
Grant lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed it. “I’m not mad at you. Are you mad at me?”
“Can we just change the subject?” Hailey cried, her lip quivering as she tried desperately to fight back her tears, in hopes that, given the water dripping from her face and hair, Grant couldn’t see them.
He did, but he pretended not to. “We can talk about anything you want,” he shrugged. “We should probably talk about how spectacularly I played this morning.”
Hailey grinned as she slid on her shoes, thankful for Grant’s easy dismissal of an uncomfortable situation. She pulled the ponytail holder from around her wrist and tied her wet hair back.
As she did, Grant turned away and started walking back through the woods, toward the road. He snapped a twig off a tree and slung it to the side, then repeated the action with the next tree.
Hailey watched him go, wondering, as he got further and further away, if he was going to look back. Finally, once she decided that he, indeed, had no intention of looking back, he surprised her by stopping and glancing over his shoulder. “You coming?” he called.
“Grant, would you stop moping around and get dressed, please, Son?” Nora begged as she hurried around the kitchen, putting the finishing touches on the dishes she planned to carry over to Granny’s for Thanksgiving dinner. “Your dad and them will be arriving over at Granny’s any minute, and I don’t want to be late.”
Hailey walked into the kitchen wearing nice blue jeans and a fitted, ribbed, brown, turtleneck sweater. Her hair was down and naturally curly, and her cheeks were rosy with delight.
“Hailey, please try to convince Mr. Grumpy here to go and change out of his pajama pants,” Nora begged. “Is everyone else ready? It is time to leave!”
“Nora, are you ready to load the car?” Jack called from the hallway.
“Yes,” Nora called back, “are the girls ready to go?”
Hailey glanced over at Grant, who had not budged from his seat at the breakfast table.
