Josephine's Secret

12. It's the Effort that Counts

12. It's the Effort that Counts: Archer's Pov

Chapter Goal (for and early update and the scene when Josephine first met Archer): 410 votes, 120 comments

QOTC- I'm thinking of just focusing on one character's point of view, would y'all rather Josephine or Archer's point of view for a majority of the next few chapters?

"There! Wait, there's already a car in that spot. There!" Josephine excitedly points to an empty parking space. "Hurry! Before someone else takes it!"

"Calm down, sweetheart." I chuckle, taking one of my hands off of the steering wheel to hold one of hers. I recently found out that Josephine is a big fan of Halloween and since I wanted us to be able to do something together, I planned for the entire day to be spent doing Halloween/fall things as a couple. Throughout the past few days, I've subtly gathered information on her favorite things to do around this time of year and I planned accordingly.

My idea was to surprise her with everything, but that changed since I had to plan everything out of the territory so that no one we know sees us, Josephine's curiosity grew during the three-hour drive and she started asking questions. I managed to resist giving away the surprise until fifteen minutes ago. Though, being able to see the happiness and excitement that sparked in her eyes was worth it. She's been smiling ever since she found out about the pumpkin patch. "I made sure to choose a less kiddie place." I tell her as I park the car. "There's still a corn maze and stuff, though." I didn't want to mention that this place is more of a couples-pumpkin patch just yet. I'll let her figure that out on her own. "We'll spend a while and pick out pumpkins to carve at home."

"Let's go!" she exclaims, eager to enter the pumpkin patch. She grabs my hand and tries to pull me, but I continue walking at a normal pace, laughing when she groans and gives up on rushing me. "Don't we have to pay admission to get in?" she asks when I lead us straight past the ticket booth.

"I paid for everything in advance already." I tell her, making eye contact with the manager and giving her a slight nod to signal that it's time to get everything ready. "Where do you want to go first?"

"I don't know." she shrugs. "Let's just walk around for a bit."

Taking her hand, I watch as she looks around at the scenery. I notice that there's a spring in her step and she walks closely by my side, a goofy smile still on her face. "Do you want anything from here?" I ask when we approach a table filled with snacks. And since I already knew that she would try to be polite and get me to choose something for the both of us, I asked one of her close freinds for some information about her favorite foods. "Archer Stone." I show my ID to the lady behind the table and wait for her to hand me my pre-ordered bag of treats.

"I ordered these in advance too." I tell her. "I heard that French macarons are your favorite."

"I love macarons." she confirms, not asking where I gathered that information from. "It's cool how they're pumpkin themed."

"Yeah," I smile, happy that she likes the custom-made macarons I ordered. "There's some pumpkin-spice cupcakes in one of the boxes too."

"Really?" she asks in awe, looking at me.

"With cream cheese frosting." I nod, walking her over to a picnic table. Placing the boxes of treats on the table, I say, "I have one more thing planned before we go pumpkin picking."

"What is it?" she asks, leaning her head on my shoulder.

"You'll find out soon." I answer. "I'll be right back."

About ten minutes and a mind-link from Josephine asking me where I am, I go back to the picnic table, this time riding on a horse. "Oh, goddess." she laughs, covering her face when she sees me.