Adventures Together

Sitting on the porch of their new house in the evenings was becoming a regular thing for them. They were proud of their little abode. Most of the couples they knew were still renting after graduation, but this was theirs.

Tonight, though, she craved adventure. They were new to this town and it was time to break it in. She set down her glass on the classic white wooden railing, then grabbed his glass and set it beside hers. He was heavy with confusion as she pulled him out of his chair and towards the car.

Behind the wheel, she just drove around town for a while. He questioned what was going on, and she explained she wanted to explore their new home. They knew every nook and cranny of their college town, every plank in the pier, every crack in the sidewalk.

That's when it hit him. Driving into town, his truck pulling the trailer with their life packed inside, they had passed an old, seemingly abandoned water tower. She had been asleep in the passenger seat at the time.

He told her to pull over and let him take the wheel. She asked why to which he replied that she would know soon enough.

The drive to the outskirts of town wasn't a long one. They had made their home in yet another big town. City life just wasn't for them. They liked to know their neighbors, the clerk at the grocery store, the mailman that came by day after day.

He turned off the main road and pulled onto a gravel road that likely had a sign naming it Farm Road 189 or something along those lines, but it was too dark to see and he didn't care enough to seek it out. The truck's tires spun a bit when they hit gravel and she gave him a side-eye glance. He chuckled and plowed forward. He could see the silhouette of the tower nearing on the horizon, but she hadn't noticed it yet. She was staring out the window, watching the fields blow past until he came to a stop. She looked out the front window and he saw her eyes light up.

He climbed out and opened her door so she could take off towards the tower. By the time he strolled over to the ladder, she had pulled her long hair into a high ponytail and was ready to climb up. He grasped the ladder firmly and promised to catch her if anything went wrong. When she safely got to the top, he began his climb up the rickety rusted ladder.

At the top, he wiped the rust residue off on his jeans, then looked up to see her leaning on the railing of the tower. He tapped his fingers on the cylinder that water once lived in as he walked her way, the sound echoing in the empty metal bowl. In the distance, they could see the lights of town, of streetlights shining that dull yellow glow. She was looking down at her hands when he reached her, at the stone on her long, slender finger. She swore it shined even in the moonlight, though he was always wishing and waiting for the day he could get her something nicer, a ring as beautiful as her, the ring she deserved. He got the nicest one he could from the money he saved up working construction during summers in college, and she loved it more than almost anything. She cried when she saw it.

He put his arm around her waist as he watched her, wondering what she could be thinking. She looked up, locked eyes with him, and spoke.

"Thank you for taking this adventure with me. "

"There's no one I'd rather experience the adventures of life with."