Bradley & Laura: Montana

The Drive

The air blew crisp and light through the rolled-down windows of the pickup truck, striking scents filling Bradley's head in fruit-filled bursts. Resting a hand on the truck's polished leather, she stuck her head out the window, hair flying about her face in a flurry of flaxen waves. The hum of the motor sang the bassline of the bluegrass song pumping through the radio, and she pressed her eyes shut, savoring the feeling of what, for the first time, felt like true freedom. West Virginia had been a wonderland of natural sights, sure, but always seemed burdened by the nagging weight of responsibility and communal strife. Here the countryside teemed with color, verdant fields of untouched wildlife flying past in a streaky blur like a subway devoid of its merciless clamor. It was the perfect medium between what had been a chaotic existence in both the rural and urban spheres, a haven wrapped in flower-speckled meadows and the scent of gardenias swinging from the rearview mirror. Covid had come, and would continue to rage as far as she could see, and yet she could never recall having felt such a sense of security as she did now. 

Pulling her head back in, she sat down and brushed the strands of hair newly plastered across her face. A smile bloomed on her lips as she glanced down at her lap, then up. Without words, a hand pushed its way into hers, resting gently atop her fingertips. Her face growing hopelessly flushed, she glanced up at Laura, her other hand perched on the steering wheel as she stared straight ahead. Her face beamed with a look Bradley hadn't seen since Iowa, the outdoors pumping new life into what years in the city had so ruthlessly tarnished. 

"Do you think we'll need to stop for any groceries?" Bradley's voice pitched high, and she cleared her throat with a forced cough. 

Laura's eyes flicked over. "Oh, don't you worry, I've got plenty stocked at the house. I've even got canned food if it comes down to the apocalypse out here."

"What are you, some sort of doomsday prepper?" Bradley said, leaning over the center console.  Laura grinned. 

"You could say that. I mean, why not have another use for a house in the middle of the wilderness? You can never be too prepared."

The two laughed, and Laura reached over, brushing Bradley's hair aside with her eyes half on the road. Bradley leaned in, pushing her face into the warmth of Laura's palm. 

"I'm so glad you asked me here."

"And I'm so glad you accepted." Laura's thumb ran smooth circles over Bradley's cheek. "I knew the countryside would be good for you. I mean, there's so much chaos in the city already, and to add an infectious disease on top of it..." She broke contact with the road, eyes locking with Bradley's. "It was the best thing for the both of us." 

Bradley nodded, tongue rising in anticipation. She's been sitting on the words all day, pinning them down like bricks to balloons. The moment was too cinematic, too perfect not to seize. She inhaled, letting the sanguine summer air fill her with courage. 

"So, does this mean I'm your...girlfriend?" The words left a hot taste in her mouth, as if she had just broken some invisible barrier held up by her own inhibitions. Woman, girlfriend, they were somewhat synonymous, but the itch of the familiar label had been pestering her from the moment they'd left the city. Laura sensed her discomfort, and moved her hand down Bradley's face, resting it with a soft grip on her shoulder. 

"Well, I wouldn't have invited any old woman down here, especially if we might be stuck alone together for months on end." She smiled, a hint of girlish excitement leaking out of her ever-serious tone. "I don't know, the word girlfriend seems so juvenile to me, so innocent and naive. But fuck it. That's what love is. So yes, Bradley Jackson, you are my girlfriend." 

Bradley beamed, trying desperately not to burst into tears. The slithering fear of abandomnent slipped into the obsolete as a stone disappears into water, settling at the bottom of her mind where she could hardly notice its presence. She pushed forward at an impulse, pressing her lips to Laura's cheek. The truck swerved as Laura's hand slipped absently off the wheel, and Bradley leaped back.

"I'm so sorry! I guess I have a bad habit of kissing you unannounced," She laughed, cupping a hand over her mouth.

Laura's mouth tweaked in a playful grin, and she pulled them to a stop beside a glistening patch of wild rosebush. 

"It's alright. Just don't take both of us out with your impromptu love-bombing."

She raised a hand to Bradley's neck, pulling her in with magnetic force. The kiss was cut short by their shared laughter, but Bradley leaned into it, wrapping her arm around Laura's shoulders and pulling her back in. Birds whistled their familiar songs as the lovers moved in synchronization, pushing and pulling against each other as they reveled in the magic of the moment. The rustle of the willow grass beat softly against the sides of the truck, and Bradley pulled away, popping her door open to a cool breeze that ruffled her shirt. She looked back at Laura, who had moved to resting her head in her hands as she perched her elbows on the console. 

"Care for a stroll?"

Laura smiled, "You know the house is only a couple miles from here, right?"

Bradley stuck her lip out, crossing her arms. "Well, I can't wait that long. I want to take a walk with my girlfriend right now, breathe in the fresh air, and kiss her in the middle of the road where everyone can see us."

"Everyone?" Laura arched a brow.

"Everyone here." Bradley swung around, motioning toward the spread of mountains overlaying the meadowy valley, teeming with the tittering sound of insects and animals. She turned back to Laura. "Everyone who matters."

Laura's face fell into a comfortable look of tender adoration, one she had grown quite accustomed to since Bradley had tumbled into her life. Killing the engine, she pushed open her door, traversing the knee-high field of shrubbery until she was face to face with Bradley once more. She gave her hand a gentle nudge and took it in her own, giving it an extra squeeze of affection before moving her eyes ahead. 

"Ready?"

Bradley inched closer, squeezing her hand back. "Ready."