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“Shoo!” I giggled. I looked to Oliver, who was tossing peanuts leisurely around me. “Buddy would have a lot of fun here. He’d go crazy chasing after all these squirrels!”
“Yes, Buddy would love almost as much as his owner does.” He grinned at me. “This park is known for being a great place to feed these little and adorable squirrels. They are so curious and not shy at all ... I was sure that you would enjoy it.”
I smiled at him, it was wonderful how this man knew me. I tossed a couple more at him and he laughed, tossing some right back at me until we were running around and laughing as we threw peanuts at each other, much to the delight of the squirrels.
Some of the peanuts eventually got stuck in my hair. One of the squirrels noticed this and nimbly clambered up my legs to sit on my shoulder and picked at the peanuts in my hair, making me laugh.
“You’re a really brave fellow, aren’t you?” I cooed, handing him the last of the peanuts in my hand. “Here you go.”
The little creature grabbed them and shoved them into its mouth, scuttling down my legs once more before heading back into the trees.
A soft ring pierced through the quiet air and I looked at Oliver. He glanced at his phone with a mysterious smile.
“Excuse me, I have to take this call,” he said. “It’s from an old friend.”
I nodded and turned my attention back to the trees. The path we were on was quite lovely with the water to one side and the trees to the other side. I could imagine many couples taking nice quiet strolls in here and enjoying the cheeky antics of the squirrels as Oliver and I had.
I smiled softly to myself at that.
Pictures would never show me this,I realized.I might have thought before that looking at pictures could satisfy my wish to travel but being here right now with Oliver—it is far better than any picture I have ever seen.
“Sorry about that,” Oliver murmured, jogging briefly up to me with an apologetic smile. “I told you about my friend, with whom I talked about the practice. I just made arrangements about it. I am leaving it in his hands. We’ll be able to start our trip as soon as the day after tomorrow!”
“Really?” I breathed, a wide smile stretching across my face.
“Yes!” he beamed, lifting me off my feet and spinning me around in a happy circle as I laughed, the sound so happy and carefree. When he set me back on my feet, he leaned in and pressed his forehead lightly to mine as he looked deeply into my eyes. “There is nothing in this world I wouldn’t give for a moment more with you, Amanda. I love youthatmuch.”
I felt my eyes well up with tears. Happy tears. “I love you so much, Oliver,” I whispered back.
We leant in to kiss once more when a shrill ringing pierced through the air and we broke apart, laughing sheepishly. Oliver picked up his phone and his mom’s face lit up the screen. I saw the familiar face of Mike from behind her.
“Ollie!” she greeted cheerfully. “How are you and Amanda doing?”
He laughed. “Thanks for the surprise, Mom! We’re doing great here.”
“Hi, Mrs. Compton!” I greeted her.
“Hello, dear!” she beamed. She scooted over so that she and Mike would fit better into the screen. “Ollie, this is Mike. Mike, this is my son, Oliver.”
“Hey, Mike,” Oliver smiled. “It’s great to finally see you.”
“Likewise, Oliver,” the other man beamed almost as brightly as the green crystal hanging down his neck. “I have heard many great things about you from your gorgeous mother.”
Mrs. Compton smiled widely at Oliver. “What did I tell you? He looks just like Magic Mike, right?”
Anyone who said that Mike resembled Channing Tatum had to be legally blind. Where the actor had a fierce, masculine air to him, Mrs. Compton’s Mike had honest, affable features with the exact same kookiness she had. His eyes were wide and a silvery gray color that sometimes had a faraway look to them. His mouth was in a perpetually soft smile as if he was caught in a blissful trance.
Like Mrs. Compton, he wore brightly colored clothes in jewel tones. Right now, he had on a vivid emerald green button-down shirt that was open all the way up to his chest to reveal a leather strap with an iridescent green crystal hanging from it.
We both laughed and Oliver winked at me.
“They look like twins!” we chorused, which seemed to make Mrs. Compton happier.
A low whine pierced through our laughter and Oliver shook his head. “Is that Buddy I’m hearing?”
“Yup!” Mrs. Compton smiled widely. “He must have recognized your voices. I gave him a couple of crystals so he doesn’t miss his mommy too much.”
The camera swiveled to focus on Buddy sitting on the floor with his tongue out. Around his neck was a fancy, crystal-studded collar and he did look a bit calmer, although there was no mistaking his soulful brown gaze.
