Page 27 of Ask Me To Stay

Chapter 11

Summer 2001

Willow

“Where are we going again?” Russ tried for the third time.

“You’ll see.” I grinned as we rode down the highway. I couldn’t believe he let me drive his truck. When we were kids, he wouldn’t let me near the thing.

When we woke up, we stopped by my house so I could grab some of my things. After dropping them off at his place, we left for my planned adventure. I convinced Russ that it would be better for me to drive since I knew where I was going. When he agreed, I decided not to push it. We climbed in, Taco between us, and I began our trip.

“Every time my mom used to say that it never ended in the way I wanted,” Russ grumbled.

“We’re almost there.” I laughed.

“We’re almost to the next county.” He tossed his hands in the air.

“I know. This is in the next county.” I shrugged as I pulled off the highway and began following a winding country road. “It’s right up here.”

We pulled up to a giant wooden sign, and turned into a dirt parking lot. “Really? This is what we’re doing?” Russ rolled his eyes.

“You said I could pick.” I grinned. “I like this kinda stuff.”

“Arts and antiques. Sounds like a blast,” he grumbled.

“There’s all kinds of stuff here, and they have food.” I cut the engine and pushed the door open.

“Come on, Taco. Time to pay our penitence, I guess.” He shook his head.

I knew this wouldn’t necessarily be Russ’s thing, but I loved this stuff and after the sexathon yesterday, I thought I deserved a chance to do this. Besides, we need to share our interests if we wanna make it together.

We walked hand in hand up to the ticket booth that consisted of a folding table under a small tent. The lady handing out tickets smiled and offered Taco a dog bone. “We get lots of people with pets,” she confirmed.

“Thanks.” Russ took the treat, and Taco seemed appreciative.

We walked through the roped off gate, and were met with rows of tents. Some had artwork, some had pottery, there was practically something for everyone. “Let’s go in here.” I dragged Russ toward a pottery tent. “Not Your Momma’s Pottery” was painted on a sign at the front. “Look at this!” I held up a mug. ‘For Fucks Sake’ was inscribed on it. “This is great.” I clapped happily as I browsed the tables. This lady had everything. There were plates, bowls, mugs, even some pet bowls. Every piece had a funny saying. ‘This is bullshit’ was painted on a dog bowl. ‘I have a fucking job’ was on another mug. “I need one of these!” I grinned as I stared at all the mugs. “Aimee would love to be here.”

“Which one do you want?” Russ smiled. I think he was just happy to see me enjoying myself.

“This one.” I handed him one that said, ‘Giving a Fuck is my Superpower.’

“That’s classic,” he hooted. “I’m buying this for you.” I held onto Taco’s leash while Russ went to pay. The lady wrapped the mug, and handed him the bag along with her business card. Apparently, she had a small store not too far away.

“Thank you.” I bounced on my toes.

“You can thank me later.” He winked.

“Is that all you can think about?” I laughed as I rolled my eyes.

“With you, yes.” He leaned down to whisper it in my ear. “I’ve wanted you my whole life. I finally got you, and I’m on a time limit. I don’t want to waste any of it.”

I blushed as he started walking toward the next tent. We meandered through several stalls, stopping to look at paintings, more pottery, and handmade jewelry. It was warm out, so we took breaks to grab frozen lemonade, and let Taco have water. After our snacks, we found a tent Russ could enjoy.

“Let’s go in here.” I motioned. I’d seen him eyeing the stall for a while, but I assumed he thought I wouldn’t want to look. It was a trip back through our childhood. There was every fad and toy known to man from the 1980s. “Check this out.” I laughed as we walked over to a table set up with pretty much every Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle toy ever made.

“I think I had all of these at one time.” Russ chuckled. “Remember these?” He pointed to some plastic charms on a necklace. “I think you had a new one every time I saw you. You wore that thing like it was made of gold.”

“They were made of gold to me. I saved all my money to buy those charms.” I laughed as memories flooded me.

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