RUMSPRINGA

Note: Written in '05 for the Eau Claire County 4-H Fair. --So, no...this is not smutty, or slash. Sorry.

Of course, the Stewart family had given room and board, as well as a small payroll to Amish boys in exchange for a farm hand before, but Lucas Plant was different. The daughter of Dwight Stewart, Kirsten, found him to be very interesting, and was only to eager to show him the daily workings of Emerald Acres.
“This will be your room.” Kirsten unlocked the door to the room above their garage, which was sparsely furnished with a bed, love seat, a small kitchenette, and a television, “The television is equipped with Dish Network which includes HBO and Starz. The kitchen is over there, but you’re more than welcome to eat in the house with us -in that case, lunch is at one o’clock, and dinner is at five. Breakfast is a fend for yourself deal, but we usually can find something.” She held out the spare key to Lucas, who took it, and shoved it into the pocket of his trousers.
“What kind of chores will I be doing?” He asked.
“Mostly field work this summer. Have you ever driven a tractor before?” She asked.
“Once. It was a scary experience.”
“We have a Kabota.” Kirsten smiled, “They’re pretty stupid proof. I’ll teach you how to drive it in a little while. We probably won’t let you actually bale yet, but you can still move wagons and help unload hay right now. Eventually we’ll have silage to do, but Dad will explain that to you later on.”
“What else?” Lucas followed her down the staircase, after closing the door of his new room behind him.
“Milking cows, feeding, taking care of the calves. Typical cleaning. That sort of thing.”
“When do I start?”
“Right now if you want. You can help me feed out some hay to these cows.” She lead him down the road a bit, past the barn to a large shed, half filled with hay, “I have to feed out at least ten bales, twice a day.” She turned to pat the small bull that ambled up to the feeder on the nose, “There’s an extra knife over there if you need it.” She motioned to where there was an extra steak knife on a ledge.
They worked together slicing open just over ten bales into the long wooden feeder. The little bull nibbled a few mouth fulls from each bale before returning to the one he had liked the best.
“He’s a funny little thing, isn’t he?” Lucas leaned on the ledge on their side of the feeder in front of the bull.
“He’s just a big baby.” Kirsten patted the bulls nose again, “Alright, come with me and I’ll show you how to drive that tractor. Dad wanted to get started early today. I’ll play shadow with you and make sure you do all right, and then tomorrow you’ll be on your own.”
Lucas nodded, not sure if he liked having to take orders from a girl younger then him, but followed her nonetheless to the little orange tractor.
“Alright then... Push in the clutch, there.” She stood up deck next to him, “And then turn the key.” The tractor putted to life, and Lucas’s foot pushed tighter on the clutch.
“Okay, now put the tractor on low.” She nodded towards the gear, and watched him shift it back from neutral to the ‘L’, “Let go of the clutch, and step lightly forward on the pedal there under your other foot.
The tractor jerked forward.
“Whoa.” She grabbed the back bar, and held on as the tractor jerked to a stop.
“Sorry.”
“That was fine, just...slow. Not so jerky.” She sat up on the tire-cover, one hand around the grab bar, the other on the roll bar.
He started off a little more slowly, taking a few turns around the barn yard.
“Good, I think you’re ready for some wagons. You have to go into that field across the road. After that, we’ll go have some lunch, okay?”
The two spent the rest of the afternoon on the tractor, taking wagons back and forth until all of them were filled. Then, while her father took off with the Round-baler for the rest of the afternoon, the two unloaded the wagons with help from Kirsten’s mother, Suzanne, and older brother, Max.
That night, Kirsten walked Lucas back to his room after evening chores and dinner.
“So, can you show me how to use that TV?” Lucas asked. Back home it would have been inappropriate to have a girl in his room after night fall, no matter how innocent as it was. It had taken him a while to get used to the fact that his parents and elders weren’t looking over his shoulder anymore, criticizing everything he did.
“Sure.” She nodded, letting him open up the door, and following him inside. He dropped the key to the room on the coffee table, and picked up the remote, thrusting it at her.
“Ok, it’s pretty self explanatory, actually.” She pointed the remote at the television, “Pressing the SAT button, then power turns on the Satellite, then you can press the TV button, power, for the television. You hit SAT again, then ‘Guide’ to see what’s on. What’s in green is what you can access, Red is what you can’t. You can press Guide again for Select channels, and you can create your personal list with your favorite channels on it. When you’ve picked a channel, you just hit select.” She handed the remote back to him, “Any other questions?”
Lucas shook his head, “I don’t think so. I can figure out the rest.”
“Um, if it gets to hot in here, there’s a fan in the closet here... excuse the mess, it’s kind of our catch-all.” She opened the closet door, “There’s some clothes in here that might fit you if you’re interested in looking for something a little more...English to wear.” It wasn’t until then that Lucas realized he was still wearing his ‘Amish clothes’.
“I might take a look later.” He confessed.
“It’s mostly stuff that other boys have left behind. It’s a lot of stuff that isn’t really allowed, I guess.” She pulled the fan out of the closet from behind a large box, “Just ignore the rest of the stuff... Like I said, this is our catch-all. If you want to use the closet, just let me know, and I’ll clean it out.”
“I’m sure it will be fine.” He told her.
“Um...well, if that’s all, I’ve got some stuff I’ve got to do yet, so... good night, and I’ll see you in the morning. Dad starts chores at five.”
“Thanks.”

Over the next few weeks, Kirsten and Lucas worked closely together, both of them learning from each other. Kirsten found that Lucas could look quite appealing, and handsome, unlike some of the other boys that had stayed at Emerald Acres. He grew a goatee, something that he had seen on television (which he stayed up late and watched), and started wearing some of the jeans he had found that fit him well in the closet, along with a dozen or so t-shirts with different sayings on them. A few of them he didn’t quite understand, but he liked the ones that Kirsten could find a reason to laugh about the best.
“Hey Lucas.” Kirsten was perched on the kitchen counter with a bowl of cereal. He had gotten used to walking into the kitchen in the morning to find her scantily clad in thigh-length shorts, a long, loose t-shirt, her hair pulled back in a loose pony tail, and of course bare foot.
“Hi.” He nodded at her, opening the refrigerator and taking out the carton of orange juice, “What’s on for today then?”
“Mom and I have some shopping to do, so you, Dad, and Max are on your own for lunch. Dad’s going to be round-baling all day, so you’ll have to find your own ways to amuse yourself. I’m sure if you talk to him, he’ll find something for you to do.”
“Alright.” Lucas plunked the carton down on the counter, and reached for a glass as Suzanne entered the kitchen, putting in her earrings.
“Morning Lucas. You need anything today?”
“No, I think I think I’m set.”
“You sure? It isn’t any trouble. We’re going anyway.”
Lucas thought for a second, “No, I’m good.”
“Alright then.” Suzanne shrugged, moving to put the orange juice away, out of habit, “Kirsten, you better get dressed if we want to get back at a decent time.”
“Oh, Lucas! Can you feed hay for me? I just forgot about it until now.” Kirsten set her bowl in the sink and jumped down off of the counter.
“Yes, of course.” He nodded.
“Thanks, you’re the best.” She rushed off to get dressed while Max finally strolled into the kitchen in a pair of boxer shorts, and not much of anything else.
“Yo.” He grunted at Lucas, opening the fridge and taking out the Orange juice again.
“Max, I need you to take out the trash today, alright? And maybe wash some dishes for me, please?” Suzanne raised an eyebrow at him.
“Sure.” Max nodded, “Whatever.”
“You could look a little more enthusiastic.”
“Sorry -how’s this: Sure Mom, I live only to please you!” He gave her a sarcastic and cheery smile, then ducked back into the fridge for a left-over piece of cold pizza.
Lucas decided to ignore the older son of the Stewart family and finished his glass of orange juice.
Kirsten came back into the kitchen, pulling her hair back again, “Alright Mom, I’m ready to go.”
“Where are you two going?” Max asked, finally closing the door to the fridge.
Kirsten sighed, “We’re going school shopping, stupid. We’ve had these plans for almost three weeks now.”
“Man... I have to leave in two weeks...” Max sighed, “Does Mom have my list?”
“Why don’t you go on your own?” Kirsten asked.
“Mom shops better then I do, and besides, I’ll get most of it when I get on campus.” Max drank directly out of the carton, finishing it off, before throwing it in the trash, “Are you guys getting groceries too?”
“Yes, I’ll make sure we do.” Kirsten sighed shoving her brother out of her way as she moved past him, “And get dressed, we don’t live in a nudist colony, you freak.”
Kirsten and Suzanne stepped out of the back door, slamming the door behind them.
“Stuck up snob.” Max muttered after they were gone, foraging around the kitchen.
“She isn’t stuck up...or a snob.” Lucas couldn’t help but speak up.
Max turned, as though he hadn’t seen him before, “What do you know? You haven’t lived with her for 17 years.”
Lucas bit his lip, putting his glass in the sink, “You may be right, but that doesn’t mean she’s a snob.”
“She’s my sister...I can call her whatever I want to.”
“Just because you’re related to her doesn’t give you the right to put her down.”
“It isn’t like she heard me...and she called me stupid, so why aren’t you having this chat with her?”
“I think you should both try to be a little nicer to each other.” Lucas crossed his arms.
“Don’t you have barn chores to do?”
Lucas shook his head, giving up with the stubborn teen and went back on his way.

“Come in.” Lucas called from where he was sitting on the love-seat in his room, watching some television show on PBS about the Amish.
“Hey.” Kirsten closed the door behind her, “I bought you something -...are you watching what I think you’re watching?”
“It’s interesting actually. Because of course, we don’t typically allow ourselves to be photographed or video-taped. Most elders think that it’s proof of vanity... and there’s a passage in the bible I can’t think of at the moment that says something about not being seen in any other form.” Lucas leaned on the arm of the seat, “What did you need now?”
“I bought you something.” She sat on the other end of the couch, with a bag, “I saw it and I just knew it was you.”
“Oh?” He raised an eyebrow.
“Yea. I know you’ve been watching a lot of television, and that you really enjoyed a certain program... so when I saw this...I just had to get it.” She pulled out the bright yellow t-shirt, displaying the face of a prominent animated-figure. Lucas smiled, and took the shirt out of her hands.
“It’s cute... But I can’t accept this.”
“Why not?” She asked.
“Because...I just... I can’t.” He shook his head.
“Okay.” She shrugged, taking it back out of his hands, and standing up to move to the closet. She made a show of tossing it into the mess, and closed the door, “Now it’s free game.”
Lucas raised an eyebrow at her, “You’re a very interesting girl, Kirsten.”
“Thank you.” She smiled, sitting back down beside him.
He continued to stare at her for a few moments, before he worked up enough courage to talk, “You wouldn’t...slap me or anything, if I tried to kiss you, would you?”
“What?” She turned away from the television where they were explaining some of the background history of the Pennsylvania Dutch.
“Can I kiss you?”
Kirsten tilted her head at him, “Most boys don’t ask, Lucas...they just do it.”
“I’m not like most boys. I thought you realized that.”
“Are you even allowed to kiss girls?” She smiled.
“You seem to forget that I’m not baptized in the Amish Faith yet... I can do almost anything I want.”
Kirsten smiled, and patted his knee, “C’mon Casanova, we’ve got chores to do yet.”
Lucas looked at her retreating back in confusion, “Who is this Casanova fellow?”

“Last load of bales in the mow for the season, kids. The rest of it’s for selling.” Dwight parked the wagon in front of the elevator, “Whose doing what?”
“I’ll stack.” Lucas volunteered.
“Me too.” Kirsten piped up. It had been almost a week since Lucas had asked if he could kiss her, and but she liked opportunities to be alone with him.
“Looks like you and I are unloading, Max.” Dwight clapped his son on the shoulder.
“Oh yippie.” Max groaned.
“Is your brother always so sarcastic?” Lucas asked, following her up into the hay mow.
“Yes.” She nodded, climbing over the hay that was already stacked next to the door, and crawling across to the other side of the barn, “You want to stack or throw them?”
“Doesn’t matter.”
“Alright, then you can throw them to me. I’m already this far.”
The two moved out of the way as the elevator turned on, and bits of hay and dust began to sprinkle down from overhead.
The last wagon always seemed to go the slowest, and take the longest. Everyone was eager for it to be over again for the season, but there always seemed to be one more bale.
“Watch out.” Kirsten’s warning came to late, and Lucas found himself caught underneath a particularly heavy bale.
“Hold on!” She called down to her father and brother, who stopped loading below. Then she jumped down a level to where Lucas was trying to push the bale off himself, but not having much luck. She pushed it down the chute to his right.
“You’re lucky. You could have fallen down the chute.” She pointed out, “Are you alright?” She was slightly taken aback when he got up on his knees, steadied himself, and then kissed her, the elevator still showering them with hay and dust.
“I’ll be fine.” He confirmed, pulling away from her, “Thanks for asking though.” He turned towards the men below, “Alright, go on then.”
Kirsten took a moment, before getting up off of her knees as well, and climbing back on top of the stack to finish the wagon.
Afterwards, she sat down on the lowest tier of bales, her feet pushed up against the wall, the perfect little nook in the mow.
“Comfortable?” Lucas asked, sitting down beside her.
“Yea. This is the best spot to watch the sunset.” She motioned out of the area cut in the wall, the swinging door held open with a latch.
“I’m sorry about earlier. It was spontaneous.”
“Don’t apologize, Lucas.” She smiled, “I surely wasn’t complaining.”
He turned to watch the sky, “I’m not used to having so much freedom.”
“It’s nice, isn’t it?” She asked.
“Yea.” He nodded, “It is.”
“I feel kind of bad... I have you leave you all alone here soon enough.”
“What do you mean?” He asked.
“School starts. I’m going to be gone all day.” She sighed.
“Oh. I almost forgot about that.” He stretched his arms out in front of him.
“I’m sorry...but I’m sure you’ll stay busy, and hardly even know I’m gone.”
“What are you talking about? My shadow is leaving. I’ll be heartbroken, like a little puppy.”
“As long as you don’t tear apart my room, and pee in my shoes, I’m sure we’ll be okay.” She smiled.
“I think I can refrain from doing that.” He nodded at her.
“Good... That’s one mess I really don’t think I’d enjoy cleaning up.”
He moved to put an arm over the bale behind her, “So are we going to actually watch this sunset, or should we get out of here before it gets dark?”
“Lets watch it. I think I can get us out of here without one of us falling to our deaths.” She leaned into him, and put her head on his shoulder.

“Hey Sis.” Max leaned in the doorway of Kirsten’s bedroom, “What are you doing?”
“Just finishing up some Back-to-School stuff...what’s up?” She turned from her desk to look at him.
“Nothing... I just... I’m leaving tomorrow morning, and I just came to make sure you and Mom could handle my chores.”
“I’m sure we’ll be fine, Max. We did it last year.”
“Alright... I just... I worry.” He shrugged.
“Right. What’s going on? What do you really want?”
“Look...don’t get to...chummy with this Lucas guy, alright? He’s Amish...he’s not going to stick around.”
“What are you talking about, Max?”
“He’s just like the others, Kirsten. After next summer he’s going to go back, get baptized, and forget all about you...so...don’t get to attached, alright?”
“You think I don’t know that?” She asked, “Just because I make an effort to get to know someone doesn’t mean I don’t realize that, Max.”
“Well...I just...I just wanted to make sure.” Max shrugged, shoving his hands into his pockets.
“Don’t you have some last minute packing to do?”
“No...the truck is all loaded.” Max shrugged, “Any parting words for your older brother?”
“Don’t come home.” She turned back to her desk, and picked up the Sharpie she was labeling her notebooks with.
“You don’t mean that.” Max entered the room, and put a hand on her shoulder, “Regardless of what I do to annoy you, you still love me, and you know it.”
“Go away.”
“You don’t really want me to leave on this kind of a note, do you?”
“Yes, it will give you something to think about.”
“Alright Sis.” He kissed her cheek, “Good night.”
“Good night.”

“What’s the matter?” Lucas stepped aside as Kirsten pushed a bale of hay down the stack to feed out in the feeder.
“My brother.” She called.
“What did he do? He’s not even here.”
“He came into my room last night and gave me a lecture.”
“About what?” Lucas sidestepped another rolling bale.
“About you.”
“What about me?” Lucas stepped up on the safer side of the stack, sitting on the top tier, watching her work.
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“C’mon...it will make you feel better.”
“No. It’s...it’s embarrassing.”
“Oh come on. You can tell me.” He coaxed.
Kirsten stabbed her knife into a bale and then moved to sit next to him, “He reminded me not to get attached to you because you’re not always going to be here.”
“Am I taking a trip?” He asked.
“No, when your year runs out.”
“What does that have to do with anything?” He asked.
“Alright, I guess I have to be blunt... He doesn’t want me to be stupid, and fall in love with you.”
“Would you? Fall in love with me, I mean.”
“Do you even believe in that sort of thing?”
“Sure.” He shrugged, “I’m not like other people in my community, Kirsten. I’ve wanted to believe different from what I’ve been told. Maybe it’s rebellion, maybe it’s just being broad minded.” He pushed a lock of hair behind her ear, “Can’t we just worry about that when the time comes, and until then, have some fun?”
She was quiet for a second, “Come help me feed out these bales, then take down a round bale.”
Lucas sighed, leaning back on his elbows, “No.”
“What?” She asked, “You sort of have to... It’s what my Dad is paying you for.”
Lucas raised an eyebrow at her.
“Well okay, he’s not paying you to help me, but you know what I mean.”
“Don’t bring Dwight into this.” He told her, “Come here.”
Now Kirsten raised her eyebrow at him, he sighed, sitting back up, and pulling her closer by her belt loops. He took a moment to kiss her, before releasing her again, dropping his hands down to grip the edge of the bale he sat on.
“You keep ignoring these ample opportunities, Kirsten.”
“I don’t want to get attached to you, Lucas.” Kirsten slid down the to the lowest level of stacked bales, moving carefully across them to the ones she had pushed down.
“Why? What would be so wrong with that?” Lucas asked, following close behind her.
“Because, Lucas. We come from two different places, and your place isn’t about to accept me, and I can’t expect you to change for mine.” She threw the bales up into the feeder, leaning over the edge to cut the twine.
“I thought we had just agreed that we weren’t going to think about that, and just have some fun?” He picked up a bale as well, tossing it into the feeder with ease, “Why does this whole thing have to be about me being Amish, and you being English?”
“Because, Lucas. That’s what this is. Yea, so you get to spend a year being English, but you’re still going to go back, just like all of the others do.”
“Ten to twenty percent don’t. What if I’m in that percentile?”
“You’ll be shunned.” She told him.
“So? What’s wrong with that?” He asked, crossing his arms, sitting on the last bale as she went to grab for it, “Tell me, really.”
“You would never be able to go back...never see your family.”
“I’ve already picked out another family.”
“What are you talking about?” She sighed, pushing him off of the bale.
“I like it, right here, Kirsten. When I left, yea, I figured I’d be just like my brothers and sister, but then I met you...and I started to think, what if I didn’t go back?”
Kirsten sat down on the ledge of the feeder to listen to his speech.
“No one says I that I have to go back to that lifestyle, Kirsten. The point of this whole Rumspringa thing is to give us an informed experience on which to decide if we want to join the church or not... And I don’t want to. I suppose I should have made that a little more clear when Dwight hired me.”
“You’re not...going...back?” She asked.
“I never planned on it... I’ve waited for this for eighteen years, Kirsten. Working on Emerald Acres was a pit stop to save up some cash before moving on so the next Amish boy could experience English life. I should have told you my plans when I started to have these feelings for you. I’m sorry.”
“You’re a total jerk-off.” She said, stabbing her knife down into the ledge on the other side of the feeder, and jumping down off of the stack to the floor, stalking from the shed.
“What? Kirsten! Wait a minute!” Lucas called, slipping down between to bales in his hurry to follow her, “Ouch! Kirsten!” He pulled his foot back out, only to have his other foot slide between another two bales. By the time he emerged from the trap, Kirsten was no longer in sight.

A couple of days later, after Kirsten had gone back to school, Lucas was helping Dwight to unload wagon of second crop hay onto the back of a truck for a buyer, who was loading a trailer parked not far away with his wife.
“I heard you and my daughter got into a bit of a fight the other day, Son.” Dwight threw the bale off of the wagon onto the truck-bed and Lucas stacked it.
“It wasn’t much of a fight, sir.” He told him.
“You mind telling me what it was about?” The farmer paused for a moment to wipe his forehead with the hem of his t-shirt.
“I reckon that’s between your daughter and me, if you don’t mind my saying so.”
“No, no...not at all. Just wondering if I could help somehow.”
“I don’t think so.” Lucas shook his head, “She’s pretty mad at me.”
“Well, if I know Kirsten, and I think I do, she’ll get over it. Might take her awhile, but it’ll fade.”
“I don’t know, sir.” Lucas shrugged, “Max got something in her head, and I think I just made it worse.”
“What does Max got to do with this?” Dwight sounded exasperated.
“Max doesn’t really have much of anything to do with it... It’s me.”
“I think someone ought to let an old farm-hand in on what’s happenin’ around here.” Dwight’s old drawl started to kick in a little, “If not you, perhaps my daughter would care to fill me in.”
Lucas heaved a sigh, “Max told Kirsten not to get attached to me because I would be leaving next summer. Well, she told me what he said to her, and I told her that I wasn’t sure that I was going to go back my old community, and this was just my first job to save up enough money to move on else where.”
“Well heck, son, what’s she got to be mad about?” Dwight sat down on a bale, as Lucas stepped off of the truck, and slammed the tailgate shut.
Lucas shrugged, “I said that I should have told you about my initial plans, and that was sorry... She told me I was a jerk, and walked out of the shed, and I got caught up in a bunch of bales trying to follow after her.”
“That’s Max’s fault... he never pack’s those bales quite tight enough. I fall through ‘em all of the time.” Dwight waved his hand, “Maybe Kirsten got something different out of it then I did, but either way, I’m glad to hear you might be sticking around, Lucas. You’re good help, and that’s hard to find. Cliche, I know, but true.”
“Thank you, sir.” Lucas winced under the hand that was clapped on his shoulder as the two moved over to help the buyer and his wife stack the trailer.

“Knock knock.” Dwight tapped on the frame of his daughter’s door. She turned from her desk.
“Oh, hey Dad.”
“Hey honey.” He came in, and sat on the edge of her bed, picking up an old stuffed penguin that lay next to her pillow, “You still sleep with this old thing?”
“No, he fell off of the shelf, and I haven’t put him back yet.” She told him, “What’s up?”
“You’ve got that poor boy feeling right down in the dumps, Kirsten.”
“What boy?” Kirsten asked.
“You know perfectly well I’m talking about Lucas. He’s up above the garage watching Lifetime movies. Now if that isn’t sad, I don’t know what is.”
“Dad, I’m kind of busy. I have a history test tomorrow.”
“Look...You know I don’t care about who, and when, and where you date, but... give Lucas a chance, okay? He’s just a poor kid who hasn’t got a friend in the world right now. He’s going through a very tough change in his life, and...he needs somebody to just kind of be there for him... Make this Rumspringa thing fun for him...not another chore.”
“Dad, I really don’t-.”
“Kirsten, shut up for about five minutes and think about this... he doesn’t have anyone right now... no one... And if he decided to stick around our culture, then he’s really going to lonely... So why don’t you get off of your high horse, apologize to the man, and cut him some slack?”
“I don’t need advice from you, Dad.”
“Just think about it, okay?”
Kirsten dismissed him with a wave of her hand, turning back to her school work. Once he had left, she turned to look out of her window at the garage. The lights were off in the upstairs, but she could see a dim light through one of the windows. Her father was right, as much as she hated to admit it. She sighed, and decided to get down off of her high horse.

“Hi.” Lucas leaned in the doorway of the room above the garage, “Something wrong?”
“Does something have to be wrong for me to come up here now?” She asked, crossing her arms loosely across her stomach.
“No, of course not. You want to come in?” He asked, stepping out of the way.
“I shouldn’t... I just... I wanted to apologize for the way I’ve been behaving. I’ve been a really...rude.”
“Come inside, Kirsten, and we can talk.” Lucas coaxed.
“No, I really... I have some homework I need to finish up. -Okay fine, I’ll come in.” She was dragged in side by the arm and the door was shut quietly behind her.
“You want something to drink?” He offered.
“I’m fine, thanks.” She moved to sit on the love-seat.
“Sure?” He asked, moving towards the kitchen slowly.
“Positive.” She nodded.
“Okay then.” He sat down beside her, “Now...what is this all about?”
“I just wanted to apologize. I shouldn’t have called you a jerk, and stormed out of the shed the other day. I was just...I was mad...but more so at Max then you. He doesn’t know when he keep his mouth shut.”
“He’s your brother. He cares about you.” Lucas shrugged.
“So...are you serious about this whole...not going back thing?”
“We’ll have to see how the year plays out, but yea, I am.” He nodded, “Does that scare you?”
“I’ve just never known someone to abandon their entire culture like that.”
“Well, now you do.” He nodded, “And I’m glad I came here first... that I met you right away.”
“What does that mean?” She asked.
“I like you. A lot.” He told her, “It would have been a shame if I had by passed Emerald Acres and gone out town... I never would have met you...or gotten to experience this whole...thing.” He motioned around them.
“Does this mean you forgive me?”
“There was never anything for me to have to forgive you for.” Lucas shook his head.
Kirsten shook her head, smiling, “Now whose missing the ample opportunities, Lucas?”
Lucas smiled, shaking his head, leaning forward capturing his lips against hers for a moment. He let his fingers encircle her wrists lightly for a moment then held her hands between his. He leaned back from her, and for the first time she took in her surroundings.
“...Oh my god, it’s like a hurricane went through here.” She looked around.
“Oh...I’m sorry, I’m in the middle of cleaning. I was going through those boxes of clothes in the closet, looking for something new.”
“Find anything good?” She asked, raising an eyebrow.
Lucas smiled, “Maybe...”
“You gonna show me?”
“Maybe.”
She turned towards the television, “What are you watching?”
“Oh, uh...just...a movie.”
“You are watching Lifetime! I was hoping Dad was exaggerating! I’m so sorry, Lucas.” She made a pouted face at him, and leaned over to kiss him gently. “I never meant for you to get so depressed you’d actually watch Lifetime.”
Lucas laughed. “Some of the movies aren’t actually that bad.”
Kirsten pursed her lips tightly together, biting her lip.
“Okay, so maybe they are pretty awful...” Lucas shrugged.
Kirsten smiled, “Okay, well...now that you’re out of your funk, I should get back to my homework. I’ll...talk to you tomorrow?”
“Count on it.” He nodded.
“Good night, Lucas.”
“Good night, Kirsten.”