“Is that where you and Joseph…” Art dragged it out like he wasn’t intending to finish hissentence.
“No, that was in Tennessee. We were goofing off after school. Here, we all smoked and threw rocks and beer bottles at trees. Dumb kidstuff.”
“Smoking. Yeah, remember when I tried to act like Ismoked?”
“Hey, at least you got one detail about the day right,” Wes said, giving him a hardtime.
“One of these days I’m going to prove you wrong there, and you’ll have to admit I wasright.”
“Not anytime soon, I don’t figure. But yes, it was adorable watching you cough up the smoke. You seem to do a much better job withvaping.”
“I’ve always enjoyed weed. Although, after I started teaching, I had to cut that out. Random testing and all. But I went out of my way to look like a real fool trying to impress you. Felt so dumbafter.”
Wes couldn’t contain his laughter. “You’d already impressed me in other ways.” He turned and caught Art appearing to stifle his smile. “Hey, Art? What do you say after we finish up here, we head over to the park? We can get an Uberthere.”
“I’d enjoythat.”
They continued their stroll through town before calling a car, which took them to the park. “An interesting stop,” the Uber driver noted. The guy looked like he was in his early twenties, with pale skin and long hair pulled back into abun.
“Just revisiting some memories,” Wes told him as they gotout.
It wasn’t the little park with a gravel stretch that had been around back when they were sixteen. The lot was asphalt and packed with cars, and there were public restrooms nearby as well as basketball and tennis courts and a space for volleyball. Concrete paths winded through the hilly terrain, and they followed one of the paths in the direction of that spot where they’d happened to meet thatday.
Walking past various kids’ playsets and coming to the pond, they followed a dirt path into what was now a wooded area of tall pines. Although, judging by how thin they were, they could have only been there for a fewdecades.
“Back then, this was all cleared out, and a lot of what they’ve built out there was where the trees were. Interesting,” Wes said. “Seems like it would be the other wayaround.”
“Well, when was the last time you were in thispark?”
“Probably not long after we were here.You?”
“Just in high school, to get away from it all, but not after that. If I hadn’t recognized the other part from the road, and how it’d grown, I would have told you that we must’ve come to the wrongplace.”
Following the path in the woods around the pond, they noticed through the trees a pavilion crowded with people, birthday banners, and red and yellowballoons.
As they went farther along, Wes searched for where their park bench would have been, wondering if he would even recognize the place when they came toit.
“Here,” Art said, detouring off the path. He located a spot by the water, near an overturned oak tree with green moss overtaking the bottom and the most shaded part. “This is where the benchwas.”
Wes was surprised by how confident he was when Wes wouldn’t have been able to place it—not after solong.
“I can’t believe they got rid of it,” Wes said. “Not that particular bench, but in my mind, it’s always been here, or at least an updated version. You’d think that after everything in my life that’s changed, I wouldn’t think like thatanymore.”
“That’s how my mind works too. Even when we were going through town, it’s amazing the things that have changed even within the past decade. And then trying to keep up with the things that changed in different time periods… Sometimes the mind plays tricks on you, and you realize that something you thought had been there for maybe thirty years was only there for the past five. Or something you thought was an addition had really been there for those thirty years, but you just hadn’t noticed it until something elsechanged.”
“Or what someone was wearing on a particularday.”
Art rolled his eyes, but his smirk let Wes know he enjoyed how he continued to give him a hard time aboutit.
“So strange to think how long it’s been,” Wes added. “All that’s happened, all the things that have come back around.” Wes turned to Art once again. “The things I’m so pleased have come backaround.”
Art looked up at him, and Wes worked to act as though he was unfazed, which felt like an impossible task. Art glanced around as though he was trying to ensure they were alone, like he knew what Wes was planning even before Wes wrapped his arms around him. He stole a kiss, kissing his man the way he wanted to that day, enjoying the pleasure of feeling Art’s lips against his own, of getting to know this man before him. He appreciated the rush of energy that moved through his body, the way being with Art affected him. He savored the moment, knowing full well how quickly they escapedhim.
As he pulled away and beheld Art’s gentle expression, he couldn’t help but observe, “It’s nice having a reason to enjoy the present rather than getting hung up on thepast.”
“Yes, itis.”
“People can try to get in our way or not respect what we have, but that will never change my feelings for you, Art. The ones that grow stronger every day. Each time I see your beautiful face, each time I hear your funny laugh, I feel alive again. And I’ve lived long enough and felt enough to know when I’m feeling something magical, and I don’t care to hide it or resist it. I love you, ArtCromley.”
“I love you too,” Art replied withouthesitation.
They kissed, then started along the path once again. They only made it a few more yards before Art said, “Oh, wait.” He stopped and assessed a space beside the pond, near a boulder. “This rock here. I think this might be where the benchwas.”
“Are youserious?”
Art nodded, a guilty expression on his face. They shared yet another laugh, because it was all too possible that they had been standing in this other spot, reminiscing over things that had never even beenthere.
Moving along, they found a bench in another part of the park. Trim, lush grass covered the ground. It was far better maintained than the weeds the park had been filled with once upon a time. A concrete walkway lined the pond, which a few passersby waved from as they enjoyed their own leisurely strolls. The sun glistened off the water as it descended toward the tree line on the other side of the pond. And Wes and Art sat insilence.
It wasn’t the same as that day such a very long time ago, but it was more than enough since they had the privilege of sharing it with oneanother.
