The Silent Melody

Chapter 7- Augusta, Maine

We finally reach Maine and check into a small B&B in Augusta for later that night. It's a bit cloudy, but it's nice since summer is usually so hot and unbearable.

"What do you recommend to do around here?" Derek asks the owner of the B&B his hand clasped around my own.

"There's the state's history museum outside of Portland, just a few miles down Second street." The wife of the B&B owner says, "And a flower garden just a block away to the right. She hands Rosalyn a guide book to Maine and we walk out the door."

"What do you want to do?"

"Let's look at the flower garden, before it rains, if it starts raining, we'll go to the museum."

"I like your thinking," He tells me as we grab the umbrella, and stick it in his gym bag. He takes my hand again making it impossible for me to say anything against it except to try to pull my hand from his. "We're dating, it's allowed, you do know that right?" I duck my head and nod.

"I can't talk without my other hand." I try to explain with only one hand. He quirks his eyebrow at me trying to suppress a grin. He releases my hand and I repeat what I just said.

"Just type it into your phone then." He says, "You're not going to get lost on me."

"Fine." My phone tells him. "But this will take longer to tell you what I want to say."

"That's okay, I've got three months and forty seven more states."

"I hate you." I tell him giving him an eye roll and a look that says. 'Really?'

He smirks as we continue to walk he speaks rapidly about nothing in particular, but I enjoy hearing his voice. I point to different flowers and plants as we walk the garden. Against my protest he takes pictures of me with the flowers and plants around. He even has a couple take our picture by the tulip garden and the lotus flowers. At the gift shop he buys me a custom bouquet of red tulips, pink lotus flowers, yellow tulips, a single perfect red rose, pink roses, and my favorite blue lilies. I smile as he presents me with the bouquet and we continue to walk around. He pauses and makes me pose for a picture, before he can say anything. I pull him in and we're both posing for the camera, the flowers carefully positioned between us.

We go back to the B&B to put the poor flowers in water before setting out to go to the museum.

Derek and I talk animatedly about the exhibits as we walk through, I get many strange looks, but Derek always takes my mind off of them. He points out a new exhibit and says something corny about one of the displays or exhibits and has me grinning. I've always wanted to laugh, Derek has this rich hearty laugh that makes me want to laugh along, but I can't. When he says something funny, I'd love to show him how funny I think it is by laughing till I'm crying. All I can do is smile so wide my cheeks hurt and give him a hug. He happily hugs me back and has his arm around my shoulders as we walk. He occasionally looks at me as if he's trying to figure me out, but can't. He's not the only one, I wish I could figure me out too. We stay at the museum until closing and the workers have to kick us out. Derek takes my hand and we head to a small cafe for dinner.

"What do you want to eat?" Derek asks me as we both peruse the menu on the wall above the counter. I zero in on an intriguing dish.

"Item 6 on menu 5 from the left. Water. A small piece of tuxedo T-U-X-E-D-O cheese cake, and Herbal peppermint tea no sugar, no cream." I tell him quickly.

"Come again?" He asks. "I got as far as small." I repeat what I want a bit slower. "Okay, after cheese cake what does this mean?" He repeats one of the signs I'd given him.