18. Yellowstone (1/2)
18 – yellowstone
they arrived at yellowstone
by midday. as they passed through the
east entrance, felicity swore she felt the sheer age of the land around them. it echoed in her very bones,
whispering of thousands of years of history. she sat in humbled silence as they
entered the park.
apparently noticing the absence
of chatter, ben raised an eye
ow at her while he drove. "you,
too, huh?"
"i can't even explain it. we
haven't seen anything yet, and i'm overwhelmed," she admitted. "i don't think
i'll ever forget this."
ben smiled and took her hand. "we
should get some gas."
"i need to buy more film, too.
the first store we find, i'm getting a dozen rolls."
their first stop was the fishing
idge general store. felicity
owsed the available items while ben gassed up
the car, moving from rack to rack and trying to decide if she ought to buy one
of those touristy yellowstone t-shirts.
ben entered the store just as she
finished purchasing her items. he pulled a crumpled fistful of bills from his
pocket and came to the register to pay for the gas. "find anything you liked?"
he asked as the cashier rang him out.
"yeah. i
got my film, and a t-shirt, and something for you."
he grinned at her, eyes lighting
up. "really? you didn't have to do that. what is it?"
"i wanted to," she responded as
they left the store. they got back into the car, and she handed him a small
bag. "open it."
with a pleased smile, he
overturned the bag and let its contents fall into his palm: a new, butter-soft
leather wallet. the clerk had told felicity the wallet was handmade by a local
craftsman who'd been doing it for years, and who turned out the best
leatherwork this side of the mississippi.
ben's eyes came up to meet hers, looking doubtful. "felicity, this had to be
expensive."
"don't you like it?"
instantly, he looked apologetic. "yeah. yeah, it's amazing. i like it, i really do." he
looked down at the wallet, thumbing the smooth grain of the leather. "no one's
ever just given me something this
nice."
"it's—it's
just a wallet," she stammered, feeling self-conscious now. "and you needed one,
anyway."
he looked up at her then, with
his gaze unreadable. his expression relaxed gradually into a
oad smile, and
he leaned across the seat to give her a soft kiss. "it's the nicest wallet there
is. thank you."
she grinned. "you're welcome."
- - - - -
their next stop was the lake
area, where ben said he had a surprise waiting for her. the last few minutes of
their drive, he made her keep her eyes closed. growing impatient with
excitement, she shifted in her seat. "can i look yet?"
"nope.
keep your eyes shut. no peeking, keep them shut."
"come on, the suspense is killing
me!"
moments later, she felt the car
draw to a stop. "okay, you can look now."
felicity opened her eyes. through
the windshield, yellowstone lake
glittered in the sun, stretching away in a gorgeous vista. looking behind her,
she saw a scatter of tiny cabins, half-hidden in the pines. the one closest to
them had a tidy little pot of blue flowers sitting on the stoop and a rustic
sign that read "maples" on the door. "what's this?"
"this is where we're staying
through sunday night," ben told her, looking triumphant. "i booked it while we were
still in washington."
"what? you're kidding! ben,
there's no way we have the money for a place like this! how did you get it?"
"don't worry about it. i saved
enough. we're probably going to be eating peanut butter and jelly, but at least
we have a nice place to stay," he grinned.
her mouth dropped open. "it's
amazing! it's—it's just so beautiful!" she launched
herself across the seat and hugged him hard. "thank you!"
laughing, he hugged her back.
"you're welcome. let's get out of this car now. i don't know about you, but
it's going to be nice to stay put for a few days."
"and in a place like this!" she
enthused, grabbing her backpack and getting out. the smell of pines soaked into