What If

8. Three Hours

Tuesday July 7th
1pm Linville, NC

"You've got to be shitting me. There's no way I'm going on that thing!" I called out to Sean. After the night in DC, he seemed to be feeling a little better. The following day, he took the time to show me exciting things like The Ford Theater where Lincoln was shot, The White House, and the National Monument. I've always heard about these places, but I never thought I would get to see them.

After having lunch, we drove until we got to Roanoke, VA to spend the night. This morning, we got up and drove to Linville, NC, where I was currently standing on one side of The Mile-High Swinging Bridge at Grandfather Mountain.

"Lydia, I just crossed it. It's completely safe!" he called back to me from the other side.

As a sign of protest, I crossed my arms over my chest and didn't move an inch. I knew he was frustrated as he mumbled under his breath while crossing the bridge back in my direction. After a few minutes, he was in front of me.

He pointed to the bridge behind him. "I just crossed it. Twice."

I shook my head. "With my luck, that thing is going to snap."

He let out an exasperated sigh. "What if I help you across? Here," he held his hands out to me, "take my hands."

I glared at him, but did as instructed. As his hands gripped mine, our eyes locked.

"Alright, don't let go and don't look down. Just keep looking at me."

We started to cross the bridge and I couldn't help but squeeze his hands when it shook beneath my feet. Don't look down, Lydia. Don't look down...

"What hobbies do you like?"

"What?" He was so random sometimes.

"Your hobbies. I know you like to read, but what else?"

I realized he was trying to distract me. "Um, I like comedy movies."

"What else?"

I shrugged a little. "It's silly." Whenever I spoke about my dreams to my family, they treated me like an outcast.

"Tell me," he urged. 

"Well, I've always wanted to be a painter."

He raised his brows. "Really? That's not silly at all. Why do you say that?"

I gave him a look; one he grew familiar with over the past few days. It was the look that meant he was asking too much. 

"Look if you can paint, that's such an amazing gift. You're a creative person, Lydia, I already know that. The thought of creating a picture from nothing? Just with paint and a brush is fucking impressive."

"Really?" 

He smirked at me. "Really. Oh, and guess what?"

"What?"

His smirk turned into a satisfied grin. "You made it across the bridge!"

It was only now I noticed that he was right. We were on the other side of the bridge.

"Nice distraction," I said with an impish smile.

"Come on," he laughed, "there's more I want to show you."

We continued our hiking expedition and I enjoyed the wildlife exhibits. I stared in amazement as I saw black bears, bald eagles, river otters and elk.

"They're beautiful, aren't they?" Sean asked as we watched the otters swimming.

"Yes. I've always loved otters. 'Little woodsmen of the forest' I've always called them. The way they can build things, and the way they are with their young just captivates me."