The View

The View: Part 3 - Questions

Ruby and Gabe had been seeing each other for about two months. Each week it was a similar routine. He would come in on her day off and they would spend the day together watching movies and hanging out on the couch. Gabe would also use the down time to do one of his hobbies, drawing. Ruby had even bought some art supplies for him to keep at her place, so he could draw when he was there. Sometimes they would run whatever errands that they need to for her or him. Today was the same. She was waiting for him on the porch when we approached.

"Hey sweetheart," he said as he got into sight.

"Hey babe." She jumped up and grabbed him around the neck and pulled him into a kiss.

"Wow, you must really miss me when I'm gone."

"I do miss you. Let's go inside. I have a special treat for you this morning."

"Treat?"

"Well special breakfast. I attempted to make you homemade waffles. I've been practicing."

"Really? Waffles are my favorite."

"I know that's why I made them." She grabbed his hand and pulled him into her house.

They spent the day doing a whole lot of nothing much. They had ran to the store to pick up a few things, mostly food to cook for lunch. Gabe had chopped a bit of wood for Ruby. She insisted that she could do it herself, and she had before she met Gabe, but he would insist on it. And she had to admit that she likes the view when he was chopping the wood.

Their day together always seemed to go on forever, but never be long enough. They learned just about everything there was to know about each other. They had even talked about the future. They wanted many of the same thing, kids being one thing they both agreed on. She loved that he had a large family and wanted one of her own someday.  She had one brother and always wished for a big family. The one thing that she was unsure about was living in the bush. The town she was living in was by no means a modern city, but moving out to the middle of nowhere, literally, caused her some anxiety.

They made lunch and went on a little hike to the outskirts of town to picnic in a spot they had found that looked out onto the ocean. The day was beautiful, not a cloud in sight and even for the beginning of summer it was still cool.

They slowly made their way back to town after enjoying the afternoon. It was getting late and she knew that Gabe would have to be leaving soon.

"What time do you have to leave?"

"I can stay late tonight. We are docked, we have a job tomorrow. We are going to be gone for 4 days."

"Ok so movie?"

"Yes. I think I know what I want to watch." Gabe walked to the shelf.

"Really Gabe, a horror film."

"Yes."

"Why?"

"I like it when you get all scared and snuggle close to me. I like to feel like I'm protecting you."

"Yeah, who's going to protect me tonight when I can't sleep?"

"I could," Gabe said, implying he wanted to stay the night.

She was a little unsure. They had talked about waiting. Was he ready to stop waiting? Because she was not, yet. A million thoughts were going through her head. He noticed the look of concern on her face.

"No, I don't want that. I just want to stay here, with you tonight. If you don't want that it's fine, too. I just wanted to hold you for as long as I can before I have to go." Gabe was sincere with his words and meant it when he said that he just wants to sleep with her in his arms. He didn't want to rush anything with her, because he was certain that she was the one. And he wasn't going to mess it up.

"I don't know Gabe."

"Ok how about this, if we fall asleep during the movie, I stay. We sleep in the couch until we wake and then I'll leave. If we are still awake when the movie ends, I'll leave and see you next week."

"Okay that sounds good," she liked that plan. She felt safe in knowing that he would be there and knowing that he respected the choices they had made.

Gabe had stretched out on the couch, and Ruby had made herself comfortable between him and the back of the couch, half on him resting her head on his chest. He pulled her close and before long they were both out.

--

Gabe woke first, it was early and the sun was just starting to come in the window. He had to meet his brothers at the dock a 7, so he had a little time to lie and watch her sleep. It was peaceful and perfect. He thought this was something that he could get used to.

After a while of watching her sleep she finally roused and was greeted with a smile. "Morning," she greeted him still not fully awake.

"Mornings. Can I ask you a question?" he asked after kissing her forehead.

"No."

He knew the "no" was a joke, so he just ignored her and asked anyway. "Would you like to come out to Brown Town? I would like you to meet my family."

Gabe was very serious. He had wanted her to come out for a while, but also wanted to keep her to himself. He also wanted to make sure that she was ready for it. He had learned that she was shy despite her first impression. Her approaching him that day on the dock was completely out of character for her. When it came to meeting new people, she really didn't. She mostly kept to herself and had made very few friend since moving to the small town, she only really knew a few people from work.

"Wow, serious questions early in the morning. Give me time to wake up, would you." She was a bit shocked by how bluntly he had asked. 

They had talked about her coming to visit but it never worked out. She was nervous to meet his family. They were close and she feared that they might not like her because she could be a bit socially awkward. She tended to blurt out random thing when she got nervous and sometimes people just didn't get her sense of humor. Also the thought of meeting his big family and all the questions that they might start asking gave her pause.

"I don't need your answer right now. We will be gone for four days. We are going to stop back by town before we head home. I can come by and pick you up or see you for a little while. It's up to you. Take the days apart, think about it, and I'll see you in four days." Gabe sat up, leaned in and kissed her longingly and whispered, "I really would like you to meet my family. I'm sure they will love you as much as I do." He leaned back so he could see her face. It was the first time that he told her that he loved her.

"I love you too," she said nearly in tears.

"I have wanted to say that to you since our fourth date, I just didn't want to rush anything."

"I almost told you I loved you that first time we kissed. So... If I came out to Brown Town what would I need to bring."

"You're going to come."

"I said if. What should I make sure I pack? Wait... Where would I sleep? How long would I be staying? How would I get back?"

"Serious questions early in the morning. You could stay as long as you wanted, for the day, for a couple days, forever," he laughed it off as a joke not wanting her to know that was really how long he wanted her to stay with him. "Pack for work, because I'm going to put you to work out there. I want to show you what living in the bush is like. Jeans and shirt are all you need, and your boots," he smiled, "and whatever you use to make yourself beautiful and smell nice. You can sleep wherever you would feel comfortable, in the room with my sister or you could sleep in my cabin with me. Now it's not the nicest place yet, but I'm working on it. It warm and dry, and the smell is gone."

"Ok, so if I decided not to come would you be too disappointed?"

"No, I'll be fine with whatever you choose to do, I love you! Wow, I really like saying that. I love you. I LOVE YOU!" He shouted.

"I love you too, and now I think the whole town knows how you feel."