Page 29 of Salute, To Bravery
Ian chuckled. “Seriously, they use science. They basically make a syrup and dip the stick in it. They suspend the stick in the syrup and leave it. Eventually, crystals start forming on thestick, and they just build on top of each other until you get rock candy.”
“Seriously?”
“Yep, we could make our own with some basic supplies and some mason jars.” He smiled at me.
“Have you done it before?”
Ian’s grin only got wider. “I’ll have you know I won my first-grade science fair because I made some rock candy.” He straightened his spine, very proud of his great accomplishment.
I grinned. He was always easy-going at work. But now he seemed child-like. Not immature but just at-ease with himself and with me. I remembered him saying he didn’t like coming home, but part of it felt like he was back where he was comfortable. Even if he wasn’t ready to talk about the big stuff, he seemed to be letting his guard down slightly.
“So, now I have a question for you.” Ian crunched on his candy, forgoing the licking process altogether.
“Okay, shoot.” I mirrored his earlier words with a grin.
“What’s so wrong with the idea of being mistaken for my wife?”
Chapter Four.
Inearly had to pick my jaw off the floor. I turned to look at him and he just sat there completely unbothered. “What?”
“I asked what was so wrong with being mistaken for my wife? Don’t think I didn’t notice how quickly you corrected her.”
“And don’t think I didn’t notice the slight disappointment on your face when I did so.” I snapped.
Ian pursed his lips. “You didn’t answer the question.”
I stuck the candy back in my mouth, trying to think through my words carefully before continuing. “Look,” I pulled the now-bare stick out, “I have no issues with you, okay?”
“So, it’s an issue with marriage in general?” Ian asked. He seemed genuinely curious.
I took a breath. “I just never saw myself getting married at all. It just seems pointless. Why would I give up all my hopes and dreams just to be someone’s wife?” I shook my head before staring at the gentle hills. “I just don’t see myself being able to sit at home and raise kids and be at someone’s beck and call.” I took a steadying breath. “Plus, I doubt anyone I picked would be someone my family would approve of, so that wouldn’t happen.”
Ian was quiet for a minute. “Do you really think that’s all marriage is?”
I turned to meet his eyes and found him looking at me intensely. “That’s what it is.”
Ian laughed, but it wasn’t a happy sound. “No, no it’s not.”
I raised my eyebrows. “And how would you know Mr.Love Guru.”
Ian pursed his lips. “Marriage is about loving someone, even if you never sign the papers. Nothing about marriage says you need to give up your dreams or be a housewife.” He licked his lips before continuing. “Marriage is about finding your person that you can’t imagine living your life without. It’s about finding that person that when you do something you automatically think “I wish that person was here with me.” It’s not supposed to be something you dread.” He shook his head.
“Your problem isn’t with marriage. Your problem is that you have a fucked up version of marriage in your head. What you described isn’t marriage.” He sighed. “Unless you like the whole housewife, stay-at-home-mom gig then that would be perfect.” He waved his hand dismissively. “Plus, you should be marrying for love, not for who is ‘appropriate.’” He made air quotes to emphasize his point.
I pursed my lips. “I’m sorry if you thought I didn’t want to be with you, I didn’t mean it that way.”
Ian grinned. “Oh, so you want to be with me?” He winked at me and again, I couldn’t help but smile.
He lightly chuckled and we kept quiet for awhile until he suddenly took another exit I wasn’t familiar with. “Where are we going?”
“There’s actually an RV park on one of these side roads. Figured we could pull off for the night and figure out what the hell we’re actually doing.” He rubbed his eyes, and I realized how tired he must have been. We drove over eight hours in one day.
Ian pulled into a small RV park tucked into the woods right off the road. He jumped out and went into the office to pay ourbill for the night, then pulled into a spot located at the back of the camp.
I couldn’t help but be impressed by Ian’s driving skills. He backed the RV into the carefully marked spot with ease before I even got unbuckled.
“Have you done this before?” I hopped out of the RV to stretch my legs while he hooked up to the water and sewer lines.
