Below the Sky

Part 2: Chapter 10, Abigail

Chapter 10: Abigail

Part 2

Here's two things you should know about me. One: I'm very opinionated. I make no small amount of effort to let everyone around me how I feel about—everything. Two: I have a boyfriend. Now I know what you're probably thinking, probably not really caring if I'm a dating a boy. This wasn't any ordinary boy though, he was special.
I think I've been in love with him since I was at least ten years old. We've gone to school together our entire lives, but it wasn't 'till we were freshmen in high school that our feelings really bloomed. We're graduates now, about a month and a half out of high school.
The boy that my heart had belonged for most of my life's name was Caleb. To most people, he isn't that amazing, but to me—well lets just say that I wouldn't be the person I am today without him. He's sweet, and funny, and really compassionate...

"Abby, come here," I stood up immediately at the sound of his voice, and brushed the dirt off of my pants. I had just been doing some touch ups on my Mom's garden, and was covered in filth because of it.
"Hey Caleb," I said as I approached him. His dark skin gleamed with beads of sweat, so I figured that he must have jogged here. Caleb didn't live that far down the road.
Caleb grabbed my hand, and pulled me in for a quick kiss. He didn't exactly smell good, but I didn't mind. "How was your morning?" I asked him.
"Good," he said. A smile reached his lips as he looked me down and up. I blushed slightly, remembering that I was wearing an old pair of pants, and covered in grime.
"Do you want to come inside?" I asked. It was very hot out, even for Vermont.
"Sure," he said. I pulled him away, and through the front door of my house.
We headed to the kitchen, and I pulled down a glass and filled it with water for him. "So, what brings you here?" I asked.
Caleb reached for the water, and said, "I just wanted to see you. I've been so busy lately, and I feel like we haven't really gotten to hang out as much, you know?"
"Ya, I guess. I can't say I'm disappointed that you came."
"No." Caleb set down his water glass, and reached over and cupped my chin in his hand. He tilted my face to his, for a solemn, drawn out kiss.
"Oh, speaking of," I pulled away from the kiss, "I want to show you something, follow me." I led Caleb out of the kitchen, and up to my room.
My room wasn't huge, but it was very cozy. The walls were painted a light pink, more like a rosemary, and I had some decorations up. They were mainly paintings I'd made.
I pointed at a canvas on top of my desk, a gorgeous picture adorning it. I'd painted a mountain scene, fog wisps curling around the peaks and a small body of water below. Caleb's eyes shown with awe as he took in my creation.
"This is so beautiful, when did you make it?" He asked.
"I've been working on it for the last few days, I just wanted to show you it now." Here's another thing you should know about me, I love to paint. It is one of my strongest talents, in fact I'm going away to college in the fall for art in particular. I have plans for it to be my major. For now though, I just resort to creating paintings and drawings in my free time, and being with Caleb.
"You're so talented," Caleb said to me as he moved closer to the art piece.
"Thanks."
"Okay, enough of that." A sly gleam appeared in Caleb's eye, as if he was thinking about something. He moved away from the painting, and instead pulled me close to him. His lips made contact with him, and I could have died right there and then and felt like my life was fulfilled. Caleb was my soulmate. We were going to grow up, marry each other, and have many children. They would someday move out, and we would die in each other's arms, the only place in the world where we needed to be.
All of this flashed through my mind as I kissed Caleb. At one point soft conjoined lips turned into so much more, and then I was laying on top of my bed, Caleb on me.

Later that day, long after Caleb had left, I was once again gardening. My Mom loved to yell at me, saying that she put a roof over my head and food in my stomach so I should help her with her plants. The truth was though, I hated gardening. It was so dirty, and stressful. Still, my Mom had so much going on, I felt like I could at least help her with her plants, to ease her stress.
My Mom was a single parent. My Dad left when I was about two years old, being too fed up with helping to raise me. My Mom had me really young, only seventeen years old, and Dad was only a few years older than her at the time. He wanted a life, outside of raising a child at twenty years old.
So me and Mom only had each other. Now, she was working twice as hard as usual, trying to save up enough money for me to go to college.
As I tended to Mom's plants, I thought of Caleb, how in love I was. Over the years I'd only had one boyfriend, ever, Caleb. We'd been dating for so now was there really a point in being with anyone else? He was perfect for me, and I in turn was perfect for him.
"Abigail," My Mother called out behind me. I stood up and looked towards her.
"How was your day Mom?" I asked. She brushed some hair out of her face, and motioned for me to follow her to the door. She had lots of bags in her hands, perks of working at a grocery store. You always brought more things home than what you arrived with.
I followed Mom to our front door, and opened it for her, letting her walk in and set down her bags.
"My day was fine sweetie, yours?"
"It was slightly boring, but Caleb came over..."
"Caleb came over?!" Mom exclaimed.
I quickly reassured her, "Nothing happened Mom. We just hung out, relax," I lied.
"I know, but I still don't want him to come over unsupervised."
"We were fine Mom, relax," I placed my hand on her shoulder, trying to tell her that nothing happened between me and Caleb.
"Okay, okay. You know I just want you to come to me with that kinda stuff. I want you to feel like you can tell me anything."
"I do feel like that Mom."
"Okay," she pulled me in for a brief hug. "Well I'm going to unload all the food and start dinner."
"Do you want me to help you?"
"No, it's fine. Go work on your art, you're leaving for college so soon." I kissed my Mom on the cheek, then rushed up the stairs to my room.

I lose myself in my art whenever I paint. Time seems to stop, and the only thing in the entire world is me, and my paint brush. The pictures I draw become my new reality, and before I know it hours have passed.
This happened to me now, after my Mom shooed me away to my room. I contemplated painting, or doing something else, but art won over. Art always wins.
After I'd finished my last piece, I decided to paint a sunset. Something small, simple, but at the same time beautiful. Even the most repetitive and general things can sometimes be the most gorgeous, like the sky. So I painted the colors of the world above us. When I finished, I sat back, and admired my work. I really loved the way I'd captured all the tinting of a sunset, not the generic orange and pink colors. I couldn't wait to show Caleb, but that would have to wait until I saw him again.
At this point it had been at least an hour, and my Mom was calling me downstairs for dinner.
I sat down at a seat next to hers while she set out the food. Tonight we would be having some pasta, not the most exciting meal, but money wasn't exactly abundant around here.
"Did you paint anything new?" Mom asked me as I took my seat and dug into my food.
"Ya, I painted a sunset. It wasn't the most incredible piece I've ever done, but I thought it was pretty still."
"I'll look at it after dinner. Did you garden today?" Mom reached for some pasta, spooning it onto her dish.
"Ya, I touched up on your gardens while you were at work."
"That's good, and obviously Caleb came over." She didn't seem too excited about the last part of that sentence.
"Ya, but I also painted a little. I am leaving for college soon." Mom's eyes suddenly start to tear up slightly. She sets down her fork, and reaches for my hand. "I'm so proud of you."

"Mom, I'm only going to college, it's not like I'm going to completely forget about you."
"I know, but I just...I'm going to miss you that's all." Mom dropped my hand, and reached up to wipe her eyes.
"I'll miss you too," I said. We went back to our dinner.

Later that night I laid in bed, thinking. I realized that when I go away in the fall, I'm probably going to have to break up with Caleb. I also thought that it would be really hard to leave Mom by herself, but at the same time, I would have this whole new experience. I came to the conclusion that I was excited, but also terrified for college.