Moving Mountains (Patrick Kane)

Not Bad .6

Patrick

"Come on. Do it" I beg.

"No Patrick" Valerie says barley above a whisper. Her voice like a calm body of water in a part of the world the wind never reaches.

"I did it so now you have to. Please! Just once" I try again.

"No" she replies.

"For me" I say sticking out my bottom lip. A large sigh escapes those perfect lips of hers and I smile knowing she finally gave it.

"Fine" she grunts as picks the grapes up out of the bag she had in her lap.

She takes two grapes and tossed them in her mouth. She moves them around before popping them under her upper lip.

I try my damnest not to laugh, to lose my shit. But I lost it. Here I have a girl who would rather die than have to admit she has a good personality. And she finally was starting to crack.

Before I can even get a good picture the grapes shoot out of her mouth causing me to laugh even harder. And in the middle of me losing my mind I hear something I have never heard before. I'm not sure hardly anyone has heard before.

Valerie starts to laugh a real laugh and it was sweet. Soft just like her voice. But I can tell she was laughing from her chest, something genuinely made her giggle. Her hand rests on her side as she gasps for breath and I felt like my face was going to catch on fire.

"Oh my god, I made you laugh" I say as she sets the rest of her grapes back in her lap. She looks up to me with a smile and it made my insides all warm. I feel like my chest was going to explode right here in this random street.

"You're not bad Patrick Kane" she admits giving me butterflies.

"Thanks. I try to be "not bad"" I shake my head. "And I really like your laugh."

"It's been a while. But it was really nice to share a laugh with someone. So... thanks" she smiles.

She thinks that in a room full of people that no one can see her. That she is someone who's whole life is made the be lost in the crowd. But in reality, she is all that I can see. I can't feel anything else, just her.

"So what do you want to do today" I ask her.

"Go home. You kind of kidnapped me after work" she admits.

She wasn't wrong. I did wait for her outside of the restaurant then proceeded to coheres her to come to the park with me. But if she said no, I would have let her go. Yet something in her wants to see me too.

"Alright I'll let you go. What are you making for dinner" I ask.

"I don't have much, probably something with chicken and broccoli" she shrugs.

She doesn't admit it, but she is struggling right now. Money wise as well as in the life department. She wants to quit her job before she gets attached but they needed her there and she makes good tips. But that money goes to the crazy rent prices in Chicago or the money she spends to help others around her. Often times she neglects herself in the hopes to help others. Honestly the world could use more people like her. As far as I know she's the only one.

"It sounds delightful. Let me walk you home" I offer.

"Okay" she nods.

So we head back to the part of the city I only go to to walk her home. She was a little ways away from Michigan avenue, just outside the main parts of the city. It was no place for her to be walking alone, that much I know. It's a miracle she's made it this long without something happening. Then again, if something did happen I would never know.

"If I taught you how to drive would you get your license" I wonder.

"This is Chicago, why do I need to know how to drive" she questions.

"Don't you want to go places outside of the city?Chicago is nice but there are so many places in this world to experience. Foods to try. It'll be easier for you to spread your wings if you could drive" I explain.

"I don't know what I would do with that kind of freedom" she admits.

"If you could drive anywhere, where would you go" I ask.

"I've always wanted to go to the mountains. I was born in Indiana, grew up in Illinois. I know nothing but cornfields and flatlands. But the mountains, well they seem pretty cool. To be somewhere other than the ground level looking out over streets and fields. Been stuck down here all my life. It'll be pretty cool to see the world from a new point of view. Be up higher than I ever thought I could be" she explains.

"Okay. Then let's make a deal. You let me teach you how to drive and I will take you to the mountains and we will get to the top and you can see just how much there still is to learn. So much more to life than the pain you know down on earth. For a while you'll be floating in the clouds" I insist.

"I know everything I could have dreamed of is out there. Just out of my reach. But if you don't try, you don't fail" she shrugs.

"Well you don't have to worry about that. I've been told I'm a pretty good teacher" I claim.

"Now who told you that" she asks as I glare at her. She just smiles as she starts to walk again.

"You're kind of a pain in the ass" I tell her.

"Eh" she says as I start to laugh.

"It's one of my favorite things about you" I assure her.

I drop her off and walk back to where I parked my car. Promising to help her learn to drive wasn't exactly well thought out. Especially learning in Chicago. This place isn't the most forgiving when it comes to driving. But it helps he feel just the littlest bit of freedom, I knew it was worth it.

I get home and drop off the other foods I brought for Val that she didn't end up eating. The grapes were good enough for her and that's good enough for me.

Once the sun sets I pull out my phone and go through what I missed throughout the day. I find the picture of Valerie laughing and I get a chill. She looked so genuinely happy. That moment felt like it was a dream. She was beautiful, no doubt about it. But the prettiest sight out there was her when she was happy. Just this picture was making my heart beat faster. My face gets warm and I couldn't stop myself from smiling. I hope, more than anything, that she will stay by my side.