“So what do you want to do on our last day, beautiful girl?”
She made a face at me and circled around the tree trunk. “Oh, I haven’t told you my news yet.”
I lowered my camera. “What news?”
She peeked around the tree at me. “The news about how I’m not going back to London at all. I’ll be staying here under this cherry tree, and taking boat rides on Lake Leticia every day, and watching the dragonflies flitting over the water.”
I made my way over to her. “Really.”
She moved around to the other side of the tree. “Yes, really. I thought you should be aware of it since you’re going to be living here with me.” Her expression was deadpan.
I started to reach for her but she moved again, switching to the other side of the tree trunk. My sweetheart liked a bit of fun and games at times. “You want me to stay here with you under this cherry tree, Cherry?” I asked slowly, my eyes tracking, picking my opportunity to lunge for her.
She nodded and shifted again to the other side, keeping me at a distance, her eyes tracking me, just as much and I was her. “You have to stay here with me, Neil.”
“I do, eh? Because you love me so much?” I inched closer.
Her expression betrayed her because she couldn’t help the devilish gleam that appeared in her eyes when she shook her head. “No, I need someone to row the boat!”
I sprinted for her and she took off shrieking, both of us laughing when I got my hands on her, and pulled us down into the soft grass.
I trapped her beneath me and tickled first, getting lots of playful groping in between the kisses and general horseplay. She got some good digs in too, and damn if she discovered I was ticklish as hell in the ribs.
“Now, be a good girl and let me kiss you,” I warned, pinning her hands down to the grass so she couldn’t get at me with more tickling.
Her eyes flared and she tilted her head to the side a bit, her hair strewn out around the grass with a few blossoms already fallen down to land all around us.
She got that softness in her expression I adored, and in the way her body melted into mine. She let me soak her up, and kiss her until we were both breathless, and wishing that time would just stop altogether.
****
We made out cloud shapes from the grassy bank with the cherry tree blossoms still floating down. By that time, we were covered in them, but it was futile to brush them away as more just kept falling. Neither of us seemed to mind and the blooms had just the barest light scent so they weren’t overpowering at all.
“I see a leaping frog at two o’clock just there.” I pointed. “See how his back legs are out and the webbed feet—”
“Oh look, Neil, don’t move!”
I froze. We both stared at my outstretched finger where one of those glowing blue dragonflies had chosen to land. I brought my hand closer very slowly, and miraculously it stayed on my finger.
“It’s so pretty. Just look at the colours of blue,” she said softly, as we both studied the insect. Seemingly unperturbed by our presence, the dragonfly extended its wings and lifted its legs to take a step or two.
“Amazing that the colour is from nature isn’t it?”
“It really is. Like a sky blue crossed with a metallic blue. I love it so much.”
“You said that sky blue is your favorite colour.” I felt the vibration of movement and then the dragonfly was off my finger and flying away.
“Oh, there he goes,” she said, “and yeah, sky blue is my favorite.” If I wasn’t mistaken I’d say there was some sadness to her comment.
“Why do you love the colour of sky blue so much?”
“It’s the colour of the sky when it’s beautiful on a sunny day.”
I nodded and looked back up at the sky, searching for more shapes.
“September 11 was a sunny day,” she said very softly.
I understood my girl so well. She had reasons for most of the things she did, and this was a very good example of that.