“Okay, will you tell me now?” I beg.
“Hello to you too,” he jokes.
“Hi.” I give him a quick kiss, then stare at him, urging him to talk.
He laughs out loud. “Is this that much torture?”
“Yes! It’s impossible to pack if I don’t know where we’re going.”
He points to my bag. “You have comfortable shoes, right?”
“Yes. And pants, shorts, workout clothes in case we’re going hiking because I have no other idea why I would need comfortable shoes,” I start to rant, and he pulls me close to him, getting me to stop talking.
“Okay, okay. I’ll tell you, as I can tell this is really bugging you.”
I slump in his arms, thankful I’ll finally find out, and wait patiently for him to tell me.
A small smile grows across his face as he opens his arms up wide and yells, “We’re going to Disneyland,” just like you see on the commercials.
I instantly start cracking up. “You’re serious?”
“I’m dead serious. I had to scalp these wristband things because I guess you can’t just get a normal ticket anymore, but I was able to make it happen.”
I sit there and think about all the possibilities that ran through my head. Not once did Disneyland come to mind, but the more I think about it, the more perfect it is.
We’ve talked about how being an adult comes with responsibilities I didn’t know existed when I was a kid and how I wish we could go back to those carefree days, and here he is, giving me exactly that.
I wrap my arms around him. “That’s pretty cool of you to plan this.”
He hugs me back. “The guys were making fun of me, saying I needed to bring you somewhere more romantic.”
I shake my head. “Nah. This is perfect.”
He kisses my lips. “Good. Let’s get on the road.”
We drive to the airport, make our way through security, then find a place to sit and wait for our flight to board. I’m trying to hide the fact that I’m nervous, but he catches on and reaches for my hand, which is clammy.
“What’s going on inside that head of yours?”
I inhale, then let it out slowly, deciding to tell him the truth. “I’ve never flown before.”
He jumps up to face me more. “Seriously?”
A nervous laugh escapes my lips. “I told you I’ve never been anywhere.”
“But what about when you moved to Tennessee?”
“We drove. I had to move all of my stuff with me.”
Now, it’s his turn to laugh. “Oh, yeah …” He grips both of my hands in his. “There’s nothing to worry about.”
I take another deep breath. “That’s what I keep telling myself.”
“Flight 2403 to California will begin boarding at gate A3,” a woman says over the loudspeaker, and my heart instantly drops.
He stands and lifts me up as well. “I got you. I promise. Don’t be scared. We’ll be just fine.”
I nod my head, trying to convince myself of the same thing.
