I pull myself together as best I can and pick Me-Me up at her dorm an hour later. We take a S-Uber to Henford-on-Bagley. Finally, we arrive at the small village known as Finchwick.
Melisa: How did you know about this place? It’s amazing. I never even knew it existed.
Kai: I didn’t either, but I did some research and asked around.
While Me-Me is admiring the views, I pull out a single rose and hand it to her.
Kai: For you!
Melisa: Oh, Kaby. You’re so sweet. I have something for you, too.
Melisa gives me a card with a sweet personal message inside. It says, “You are my heart, my soul, my treasure. My today, my tomorrow, my forever. My everything.” I am already on the verge of tears from the news about my father, so I find it very hard to keep it together after reading it.
Luckily Me-Me doesn’t pick up on my sudden flood of emotion…or if she does, she keeps it to herself.
Melisa: So, where do we go?
Before I can answer, we’re interrupted by a woman’s loud boisterous voice.
Mayor Lavina: Hey there! I’m Lavina, the mayor of Finchwich Village. Are you two visiting?
Kai: *slightly startled* Uh, yeah. It’s our first time here.
Mayor Lavina: Oh! We love visitors, and we certainly love showing off our town. We have plenty to do, too. Let’s see… there’s the Finchwick Picture House and the Finchwick Diner. Unfortunately, there’s no festival today, but you might enjoy the Gnome Arms Bar and you –
Kai: *interrupts* Uh, what about the bed & breakfast?
Mayor Lavina: Oh, of course – you must be newlyweds! The Henford Bed & Breakfast is a charming place to stay! It’s the pink house behind you.
Melisa: *surprised* A Bed & Breakfast? Isn’t that like – a hotel?
Kai: *uneasy* Yeah, I uh –
Mayor Lavina: *interrupts* A hotel? *chuckles* No, dear. The Henford B & B is more like a home away from home. There’s a buffet meal offered all day, with family-style dining and not just at breakfast. There’s also a full-service café…
Mayor Lavina turns and begins walking as she continues talking. Maybe she wants us to follow her to give us a tour of the area. I don’t know, but we stay where we are.
Melisa: Is that what you had planned? Do you want us to stay the night here?
I can’t read Me-Me’s tone. Is she mad at me?
Kai: Uh, no. I mean, yes – I thought it might be a possibility, but that’s not all I had planned.
I immediately regret bringing up the bed & breakfast. Now that I think about it, it’s incredibly presumptuous.
I fumble my way through an explanation.
Kai: I – I guess, I thought it would be better than – you know, a dorm room. And —
My words cease when I feel Me-Me’s warm hand in mine. Is this her way of showing that she’s okay with the idea of staying the night here?
Kai: But, uh. That’s not all I had planned. I figured we’d go to a movie and maybe grab something to eat before making any final decisions.
We turn and walk up the stairs and get in line to purchase tickets to whatever the next movie is. After I have the tickets, we see that the place also has a bar, a lounge area, and an arcade.
Kai: Would you like some food or something to drink?
Melisa: How about some popcorn to share?
Kai: Yeah, sure
I grab the popcorn, and we make our way inside the cozy little theater.
We choose seats at the top and sit, happy to see that other than one guy, we’re alone.
Kai: I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you about the bed & breakfast before.
Melisa: It’s okay. If you told me, it wouldn’t be a surprise, right?
Kai: Yeah, but being with me in that way is something I should have given you some time to think about.
Melisa: I have thought about it. A lot.
Kai: Oh
But what exactly has she been thinking?
I don’t want this whole date to be about woohoo and whether or not it’ll happen. So, I change the subject…
Kai: What are your parents like?
Melisa: My parents? They’re pretty cool. My mom is a lawyer, and my dad is a programmer. They’re both Britechester graduates.
Kai: Did they meet in college?
Melisa: How they met is a fascinating story.
Kai: Fascinating how?
Melisa: They were a part of a costumed blind date challenge!
Kai: Are you serious? How does that work?
Melisa: The challenge was called 28 Blind Dates. My mom was the bachelorette, and while wearing a full-body costume, she went on dates with nine fully costumed guys.
Kai: So, they couldn’t see each other?
Melisa: Nope, my parents had no idea what each other looked like until the end. They couldn’t touch or anything like that, but somehow they fell in love.
Kai: That’s leaving an awful lot to chance. What if they weren’t physically attracted to each other?
Melisa: That’s why it was called a challenge. She had to choose a partner based purely on personality.
Kai: Gosh, that makes me wonder if we would have ended up together if we’d gone through a challenge like that.
Melisa: *flirty* Oh, I totally would have picked you! But what type of costume would you have chosen?
Kai: Me? I don’t know…maybe a Super Llama costume.
Melisa: Then I definitely would have chosen you, because there would have been no hiding what’s underneath that costume.
Kai: Wouldn’t that have been cheating, though? You wouldn’t have been choosing based on personality if that’s the case.
Melisa: Believe me, your personality would have won, too. The rest would have just been a bonus.
Me-Me sounds a bit flirty. Time to stop babysitting this popcorn. I finish the last piece by throwing it up in the air and catching it with my mouth.
I slide over closer and put my arms around her.
Kai: I would have chosen you, too. There’s no doubt in my mind.
Melisa: So sweet!
Me-Me leans over and kisses me. After a few moments, I realize that we haven’t watched even a minute of the movie. So maybe it’s time to go.
Kai: Should we leave?
Melisa: Yeah, sure
The bed & breakfast is heavy on my mind. If it’s going to happen, maybe I should bring it up.
Kai: Um, it might not be too late to try and get a room.
Melisa: You didn’t make a reservation?
Kai: I didn’t want to assume.
Melisa: Can we go and look around some, first?
I agree to a walk around the village, but taking my mind off of getting a room leaves just enough space for thoughts of my dad to seep in. Grief has a way of taking over at the worst times. Now I’m feeling down all over again.
(Generation 3 Chapter Summaries)
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