The Future Road

Jarod breaths deep as he speeds along. His body vibrates in a rough rhythm to the road striations. The engine hums beneath him and the tires squeals as he rounds the corner.

Almost there.

He tops the hill and there’s the whole valley spread out below him. All downhill now, literally. Jarod chuckles at his clever little joke. It sounds strange inside his helmet.

He can see Jamie’s house next to the river. He hopes her parents aren’t there. He wants privacy.

The rapid drop in altitude makes his stomach flip. The task ahead of him may be another factor in his discomfiture, but he’s not thinking about that yet. He’s focusing on the crisp fall air, the smell of leaves and mowed hay, the sound resistance of the wind as it passes over his helmet and around his body. He’s in the moment. Jamie taught him that.

He leans left and angles the bike off the road and onto the long gravel driveway. She’s out the door before he even has a chance to kill the ignition.

“I thought you’d never get here.” She looks up at him, a smile flirting at the corners of her mouth.

He leans down and rests his forehead against hers inhaling her scent. There are tears in his eyes when he pulls away.

“What’s wrong?” She touches his cheek.

“I’ve been thinking about you. About us. It’s just that I love you so much.”

“And I love you too.”

Jarod took a deep breath.

“Then prove it.”

“How?”

“Well, everyone around here has expectations. Your parents. My parents. The teachers. My boss.”

“I know. So?”

“It’s just so much to deal with. We’re prisoners of their expectations, strangling on what and who they think we are and should be. I just want to be with you.”

He pulls a box from his pocket. Jamie gasps as he opens the box revealing an antique silver ring.

“Before my mom she gave me my grandma’s ring. She said someday, if I was lucky, I’d find the right woman to wear it.”

He looks up at her, expectant, nervous.

“I know we’re young, but I feel like someday is today. This is the right moment to claim our lives, to be who we want to be. I am the best me when I’m with you, Jamie.”

Jarod lowers himself to one knee.

“Will you marry me?”

And Jamie says, “Yes.”