Finding Bridgewater

Chapter 11-LIFE

May 12, 2022

It's 6pm on a Thursday, marking the 4th day I've spent here. James is off working the ranch, he has been all day, and I'm laying on the couch scrolling through Disney+, feeling a little nostalgic. I roll off the couch and head to the bathroom to wash up because James should be here soon and I've yet to brush my hair since I've been alone all day. I hear the front door open, alerting me that James is finally home as I try to contain my excitement.

I rush through the door and head towards the kitchen, where I hear James making a ruckus. I round the corner and set my eyes on the take out bags on the counter.

"You know, we should stop eating take out so often. Maybe I can make dinner tomorrow."

"Tomorrow I won't be here for dinner. I'll be working all day, so that I won't have to this weekend, but..." he turns to look at me, "I would love if you made us dinner on Friday," he smiles at me, my heart speeding up from the sight. "The question is, are you a good cook," he raises his eyebrows.

I move toward the counter to grab my food and elbow him in the process. He laughs, grabbing my elbow and spinning me around toward him. "I'm kidding. I'm kidding. I'm sure you are a great cook. Your grandpa taught you right?" I nod my head, too dizzy to form a coherent sentence. I'm definitely dizzy because of him spinning me around, not because of how close we are.

He goes to say something else but pauses as our gazes meet. Every thought in my head goes silent, muted by his presence. He moves his hand toward my head, but bypasses me and grabs his food on the counter behind me. I huff, annoyed and slightly disappointed at the teasing. I see him smirk, knowing what he does to me as he moves toward the living room.

I grab my food and follow, fully prepared to be mad at him for the rest of the day. I sit as far away as possible from him on the couch and grab the remote to continue scrolling through Disney+.

James tries to get my attention but I focus on the screen, ignoring him. I see more movement out of the corner of my eye, but continue to ignore it. That is, until my food is placed on the coffee table and I am yanked up from my seat, right into his lap. I turn my head quickly to look away from him, still trying to remain mad, but failing horribly.

He places his hands on the sides of my face forcing
me to look him in the eyes. "Now that I've got your attention, I was wondering if you wanted to learn how to drive the truck," he says carefully.

"Is it a stick shift?" He smirks, obviously thinking of something very dirty. I don't blame him, though. It's hard not to get dirty thoughts when I'm straddling his lap, but still, I push on, leveling him with a serious look.

"No, it's not."

"Okay, then what's so different from my Jeep?"

"You have to take wider turns, but that's about it."

"Eh, I'll get the hang of it if I ever need to. I'm a fast learner. I was thinking we could do something else..." I trail off, misleading him because he just did it to me. He quirks an eyebrow and trails his eyes down my body. That was way too easy.

"What were you thinking?" He asks, his voice slightly more husky than it was before.

I lean in and whisper in his ear, "hmmmm," I see him shiver with anticipation, "what about a board game?" I pull back slightly to see the look on his face and instantly lose my battle of remaining mad. I burst into laughter and fall on my side, flopping down on the couch. His face is a mix of boredom and annoyance, but as he looks at me I see the corner of his lips slightly turning up.

I abandon my food, stand up, and rush down the stairs, fully knowing that James will trail me. I rush into the game room and re-emerge with a game in hand just as he makes it down the stairs.

"How about the game of Life," I ask, raising an eyebrow. He looks at the game, then up at me, and down again. Shaking his head, he gestures for me to set it up.

"I get the pink car," I call dibs as he reaches for his own, ultimately picking the blue one. Once we set up the game we spin the wheel to see who goes first. We both land on 5 on the first spin. James graciously lets me go first instead of respinning. I choose the college path, obviously, while James chooses the career path.
We pick teacher and farmer as our jobs, because of course we would.

James makes it to the marriage square first. "New rule! Whenever you get to a square and add a new person to your car, you have to name them and explain why you named it that," I say excitedly.

"What? Why?" Oh, James, so simple.

I wink at him, "to spice it up of course." He laughs and does as told.

"Hmmmm I think my wife will be named something starting with an......" I wait, not quite sure what I want to hear. "E," he finishes. Oh....I was not expecting that. "I'll name her Eleanor." I feel...disappointed? I don't know why and I don't like it. "But I'll call her Elle." That makes me whip my head up to look at him, finding him already staring at me. He winks before turning back to the game as if nothing just happened. I shake my head and continue on with the game because what else would I do?!

I make it to the marriage square next. "My husband will be named..." I let the suspense hang in the air, feeling James's eyes on me the whole time. "Jim. I like the name Jim," I decide. I don't look at him to see his reaction, instead focusing on the board game.

Time flies by, while we laugh over our houses and the little missions our pretend families complete. Eventually, I land on a square that states "it's a boy" and I have to come up with a name "Jim Jr, duh," I laugh with James.

He lands on a square saying "it's a boy" next and the laughing seizes as he explains the name. "West, it was my father's name." I go to grab his hand and squeeze it, which has become sort of our thing to reassure each other. He takes my hand and kisses my knuckles while staring into my eyes the whole time. So many emotions are crystal clear in his, it's hard to place just one.
He drops my hand and we return to the game, eventually laughter coming back to us.

At the end of the game, James has 2 boys and 1 girl, a shack for a house, he still has his job as a farmer, and retires to Countryside Acres. I on the other hand have 1 girl and 1 boy, a farmhouse, I quit my job and got a new one as a vet, and retire to Countryside Acres...even though I have the funds for Millionaire Estates...

We clean up the game together, finish our dinner, and part ways for bed. I can't sleep though, rolling around and feeling like something is missing.