Page 106 of Pictures in Blue
“Hudson, I’m home!” I yell into the darkness. Most of the time he falls asleep on the couch waiting for me, a Christmas movie orThe Princess Brideplaying on the television. I swear, he has seen that movie more than I have.
“Yoohoooo!” I call out. “I’m home and I am taking my pants off!” No answer.
“I’m home and I am stripping off my shirt!” Usually, by now, he comes into the living room from upstairs or from the spare room down the hallway that Ethan stays in every now and then, but this time I am met with silence.
I look down at Judy and our newest addition, Jingle, another golden named after a Christmas elf, who are at my feet, tails wagging, ready for a treat. “Where’s he at girls?” I ask, and they seem to answer as they both trot toward the back door.
I follow them and my breath catches when I slide open the door. Hudson is standing at the bottom of the stairs, dressed for a hike, gear ready at his side.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
“We,” he responds, holding out one of the packs to me, “are going on a hike.”
“Right now?”
“Yes.”
I roll my eyes, “I thought we were past one-word answers, Waters.”
He lets out a low laugh. “Habit. C’mon, Sunshine. We are on a schedule.”
“Hikes have schedules?” I ask, taking the bag from him and placing it on my shoulders.
His eyes meet mine, a softness behind them that never fails to destroy me. “This one does,” he responds. His hair is tied up in one of my ribbons –white with yellow polka dots– in a bun at the top of his head, giving me a full view of the wide smile that spreads across his face at the sight of me walking to him.
I take his hand and we head out to the trees, taking the familiar trail I’ve come to love over the last few months. I’m still using my therapy techniques some of the time, but mostly, if I have a particularly overwhelming day, I can depend on this trail. The slightly wonky tree at the entrance that provides just enough shade for the small sapling Hudson ripped out of the ground at the beginning of our agreement. We re-planted it shortly after I agreed to stay and honestly, it’s a miracle we saved it. Even if it had died, I have a feeling Hudson would have found some way to preserve it for us, a fullBeauty and the Beastmove with a bell jar carefully placed over the top of it.
As we continue down the trail, Hudson takes a sharp right to an opening that wasn’t there before. “Hudson, where are you going?”
“It’s a surprise.” Okay, he’s being weird. I follow him through what looks to be a newly cut trail and wonder what exactly he’s been up to back here over the last few weeks. According to him, he’d just been cleaning up our normal path because some trees were blocking the way from a bad storm. Clearly, he was doing way more than that.
He leads me to the opening we came to months ago with the horses except there's another trail that wasn’t there before on the other side. Hudson glances at the sky and starts to pick up his pace, grabbing my hand and pulling me behind him.
“Hudson,” I laugh. “Why are we almost running?”
“I thought you loved running?”
“Not when I don’t know where I’m going!” I yell, laughing as the weight of the pack shifts from side to side with each step I take. He responds with a tug on my hand, almost dragging me behind him. I push my legs to catch up to him, matching his pace, practically running next to him. He keeps glancing at the sky, keeping track of something. We come to a hill and he starts climbing immediately.
“Hudson, I swear, if you don’t tell me what is going on, I will stay at the bottom of this hill.” He knows I’m not serious. I’d follow him anywhere, but this is getting ridiculous.
He stops halfway up and turns to face me, reaching out a hand. “Do you trust me?”
My gaze meets his and all I see there is warmth and excitement and I can’t help but smile. After I roll my eyes. I start climbing until I am right in front of him and place my hand in his. “With my life.”
Before he turns back to the trail, he places a firm kiss on my lips that I try to deepen, but he stops, breathless, and rests his forehead on mine. “C’mon, it’s almost time.”
“For what?” I ask, putting a dramatic flair to it.
“You’ll see. Just a little bit longer.” Kissing my forehead, he turns around, my hand still in his and we continue up the hill.
The sun has set, making it more difficult to navigate our way to the top, but Hudson pulls out a small flashlight to guide us. After a few more minutes we reach the top and come to a stop at an open patch of grass, a blanket spread out with two unlit lanterns on either side.
Reaching out a hand toward me, Hudson pulls me down to the blanket and we settle next to each other on our backs, reminding me of our first hike together.
Once we are settled, I turn my head to his. “Do I get an explanation now?”
His eyes meet mine, a wide smile reaching his eyes, the corner of them crinkling in the most adorable way. “Just look up.”
