Chapter 14
Kennedi
SATURDAY AFTERNOON, OCTOBER 11TH
“Have you ever been in a corn maze before?” I asked Bryson.
“No. What about you?”
“Baby, you know that I love saving mostly all my firsts for you,” I replied.
“Then maybe one of us should have had some experience, because I could have sworn that we took this same path three times already.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yeah. I’m certain that we did.”
“But how can you tell, Bryse?”
“Because the last time we went this way, I purposely dropped that crumpled, ripped brown leaf on the path. It’s still there.”
I looked to where he pointed and saw a very distinct leaf that stood out among the others. As panic set in, Bryson looked at me and pulled me into his arms. “Hey, don’t cry. You know that we’llget out of here. They have staff members along the way that we can ask.”
“I was just determined to do this on my own. I didn’t want their help. It’s important that I prove to myself, if no one else, that I could do this without any help.”
“And you can, baby. First, I need you to calm down and breathe. Once you’ve done that, you and I are going to create a strategy for getting out of here. Then we’re going to work our strategy until we accomplish what we set out to do. Okay?”
I nodded, and he held my hand as I inhaled, held my breath, and exhaled until I calmed down.
Trust your instincts. Always trust your instincts. You have the wisdom inside of you to make the best choices.
The cook’s voice returned in my head, forcing a smile to my lips. It was almost like she knew that this moment would arrive, but she couldn’t have, could she?
“Pull the map out again, and let’s identify where we think we are,” Bryson suggested.
I reached into my knapsack and pulled out the map we had been given at the front of the maze before we started. We stared at it for several seconds, turning it this way and that, before we found where we thought we were. Only time would tell if we were correct.
“Are you ready?” Bryson asked.
“I am, but I have a suggestion.”
“What’s that?”
“I’m going to walk with my hand on this right wall of corn as we go. We’ll keep going in the same direction to lead ourselves back.”
Bryson grabbed my face with both hands and kissed my forehead. “You’re brilliant, baby.”
I laughed and replied, “Only if it gets us out of here.”
“Let’s go.”
Twenty minutes later, we made it out of the maze, and I was happy that we hadn’t just made it back to the entrance, but all the way to the exit.
“What’s next?”
“Well, since we’re right across the road from the pumpkin patch, why don’t we pick out a pumpkin?”
“Okay, baby, but what are you going to do with it?”
