Page 25 of Forever Focused

Smiling happily, she moved to pack her bags, wondering what Michael had up his sleeve.

* * *

Michael picked her up the next morning, once again surprising her. She expected to meet him at Flyboys or to get a phone call setting a time, but never expected to walk out into the kitchen to get her coffee – and see him. Michael, her mother, and her father were sitting at the kitchen table like it was the most natural thing in the world, shocking her. The trio stopped the conversation, and Michael rose to his feet, smiling at her.

“Okay,” Poppy began warily. “Now I know something is up…”

“Why?” he chuckled easily. “Your father and I work together all the time. Can’t I bum a cup of coffee from him?”

“You’ve never come over or ‘bummed a cup of coffee’ from my dad – or my mother. First, you guys acted weird last night, and now this? Is it the end of times? Am I sick? Are you sick? Is someone dying?”

“She gets that negativity from you, Abby…” her father muttered, his eyes twinkling as he looked at her mother.

“Whatever, Gage. We both know that skepticism is all you.”

And before her very eyes, all three of them laughed like they were in on some little secret. Poppy arched an eyebrow, crossed her arms, and looked at them pointedly, only to have Michael hand her a cup of coffee.

“Why would you need to ‘bum a cup of coffee’ when you brought some?”

“Would you relax?” he chuckled, smiling at her. “Sometimes things are not what they seem, and other times, they are exactly that.”

“All of you need to stop with the whole ‘mysterious comment’ segment because some of us do not find it enjoyable. It’s… creepy.”

“Creepy? Should I go?”

“We’re both leaving, remember?”

“Only if you want to…” Michael taunted in a hushed, sing-song voice that was exceedingly playful and surprising, considering they had an audience. She looked up at him, saw the happiness in his gaze, and felt something turn over within her as he whispered to her softly. “Let’s do this.”

And she nodded.

She was so in love with this man before her and had been for forever. Just seeing Michael like this now, so comfortable in his environment, his own skin, and no longer trying to fit into the mold other people wanted him to squeeze into - he was finally happy and it was incredible to behold. He slipped his hand into hers, leaned forward to kiss the tip of her nose, and smiled.

“Houdini, see you Monday at work.”

“Take care of my girl, Thing Two,” her father said simply, again surprising Poppy because she expected him to balk, question, or comment about her being gone for a few days with Michael – yet he didn’t.

But her mother did…

“Gage, they’ll be fine.”

“I know. That’s the only reason he’s leaving with my Poppy-girl. That boy would give his life to make her smile, which makes him acceptable to me.”

Poppy turned to look at Michael and saw his eyes, realizing her father was right. No matter what imagined ‘ills’ there were in the past, all of the confusion, the bickering, everything… she saw what her father meant about Michael. There, in his eyes, for anyone to see, was the truth. This man loved her and treasured her very existence, putting herself into his hands, his heart, his soul, his protection forever.

“Adventures in love… huh?”

“Yes,” she smiled tearfully at him as he opened the car door. “Let’s begin our adventure together.”

“Your wish is my command… always.”

* * *

Two hours later, Poppy stared at the scene before her with awareness and smiled. It was so ironic they were landing at the Austin municipal airport once more when the last time she was here, she’d wished that Michael was at her side.

Austin was a brief jaunt via plane and an easy escape, but so much more. There were forests full of fauna, caves to explore, beautiful rivers to float down, and the culture was an eclectic mix of everything. You could find reggae music in one club and country western in another. If you wanted tacos, there were probably ten different varieties from ten various cultures in a six-block area. Parts of the city were bright, colorful, and laden with art – while other parts of the city were sun-bleached, quarried limestone lining massive buildings.

“C’mon,” he chuckled, waving her forward to the taxi that waited for them.

---