Every Rose has its Thorn

Part 2

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The way I looked forward for this evening, I thought today would go by slowly. But with all the work I'd done, I'd been busy enough to forget.

The last thing I had to do was move some hay bales into the barn and then load up the crates of cider and other baked goods my mother made to take to the city.

Scout lied in the grass soaking up the sun in front of the barn while I was working. It didn't take me long to finish, so then I started packing up the crates into the back of the old truck. I'd have to take them into the city tomorrow to sell.

I then remembered to turn the sprinklers on for the crops and quickly did that in no time. I let my father know so he knew to turn them off later since I wouldn't be here.

Then finally, I was finished. Not so much hard work today. I walked back to the house for a minute and had a slice of my mothers apple pie. I hadn't eaten all day.

After that, I went to the horse stable, saddled Missy and took her out. I rode her over to the entrance of the Jane's farm and saw Rita riding her horse, Lola, over in my direction. She finally met me and greeted me with that gentle smile of hers.

She was wearing a light blue summer dress that had white lace around it with her cream colored cowgirl hat she was always wearing. Rita liked to change and freshen up after working on the farm. I never bothered for some reason.

"Hey there doll." I smiled.

"Hello, Wes."

I handed her the rose that was in my hand that I had taken from my mothers garden earlier.

"Thank you." She blushed.

Rita took the rose and slipped it through the side of her boot so she wouldn't lose it.

"You ready?" I asked.

"Lead the way."

"Ladies first." I partly teased, letting her in front of me.

I joined our horses to walk along side each other as we followed the dirt trail that lead away from the farm. We'd always walk or ride our horses down this way.

I watched as the colors of the sunset reflected it's orange and red glow across the sky. It was starting to get cooler out.

Rita and I talked a little as we made our way down the trail. I didn't mind it much but she had seemed a little off tonight. She was always a smiley person, sure, but this time her smiles didn't seem so genuine. I didn't want to bring anything up, so I didn't.

"You get some work done today?" I asked for more conversation.

"A whole lot. It's been busy this past week."

"I'll be going down to the city tomorrow to drop off some crates. Does your family have anything that needs taken down? I've got some extra room."

"Oh, we're good on that. Nothing new to take down. But thank you." She replied.

I nodded my head. We continued on the trail until it ended and led onto a large open piece of land. We took our horses into a canter and raced each other through the field. The grass was pretty overgrown since no one owned it, or whoever did didn't take care of it. So we watched for snakes and such.

I encouraged Missy to go as fast as she could, and I knew it felt good for her to finally be able to stretch her legs. Lola, Rita's horse, was really fast. She was a little bit bigger than Missy.

Rita was laughing as our horses were running side by side, waiting to see who would win. The field was huge and went on over hills far into the distance. We could go forever, but eventually our horses grew tired and began to slow down.

We took them to stop and stayed there a while. We both hopped off our horses and held their leads in our hand so they wouldn't wander off. The grass was much shorter down this way,  so we both sat on the ground next to each other and watched the sky. The sun was almost fully set now and I was beginning to feel the night breeze against my skin.

We sat there in comfortable silence a while, enjoying each others company.

"Weston?" Rita asked after a while.

"Hm?" I looked over to her.

"When you're older . . . could you see yourself leaving here, or leaving Mississippi?"

I thought for a moment. "I don't know. I like it here. It's quiet. It's our family's farm that's been here for generations." I thought some more. "And you're here."

She looked down at her lap and I could tell there were many thoughts running through her head. By her face, I wanted to know what she was thinking about. What was making her feel a little down, or to ask these questions.

"I like it here too." She said softly. "When I was younger, I used to hate it here. I wanted to be around lots of people, in the city or something. But I guess I started to get used to it. I started thinking how I'm so used to the quiet and would hate a loud city."

I looked over to her as I listened.

"And now I think I'll never be able to leave this place. I'm so used to it. It's my normal."

"That's what I've always thought." I started. "It's always felt at home here. It's just . . . perfect." I smiled.

She returned a smile to me and looked back in the distance at the hills and trees.

Finally, it was starting to get dark out and it was a clear night, so there were many stars. I laid down on my back to see them better.

Rita looked back at me and laid down too, staying beside me. I turned my head slightly to check on our horses. We still held their leads in our hands. Lola was walking around in small circles and Missy was lying down herself, watching Lola.

I turned my attention back to the sky.

"This isn't very comfortable." Rita chuckled.

"Here." I said as I motioned for her to sit up and put my arm under her head to lay on. She seemed satisfied by that.

"I wouldn't survive in the city." I agreed with her, finishing our conversation.

She laughed with me.

I turned to look at Rita again. She was so beautiful. I had spent my whole life with her and I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. I don't want to be with anyone else but her. She had so much hope in her eyes and a heart full of passion.

'I love you.,' I thought. But I didn't say it.

Instead I brought up my hand and gently brushed her cheek. She kept her gaze locked with mine. I began to move my face closer to hers and waited for her response. She didn't move, so I didn't stop myself.

My lips reached hers and they collided. I breathed her in and savored her taste of bitter strawberries.

I pulled away and studied Rita's face to figure out what she was thinking. She gave me a slight smile, so I took that as a sign to go in for more.

I met her again and kissed her deeply. Her lips were warm against mine. I took my hand and brushed her hair behind her ear without breaking our kiss. I then put my arm around her and held her closer to me.

For I have waited for this moment a long time. She was mine and that was all I wanted. It felt as if I completed everything I'd ever wanted to do. I didn't know it was possible, but my love for her grew even stronger in that moment.

After a moment, I pulled away from her again and we exchanged smiles.

"I'd been waiting forever to do that." I admitted.

I reached over to the other side of me and picked a sunflower from the ground. I carefully placed it in her hair. She seemed to like that.

"I'm glad you finally did." She soothed.