The Science of Growing Apart

37- Tree House

"When I asked if there would be a lot of walking, I was thinking a museum or a garden, not a hike in November," Casey said as we walked down the forest trail toward our destination. Luckily, the weather wasn't that bad for that time of year and although it was pretty cold, the sky was clear and blue.

"We're almost there," I promised him, eagerly walking a couple of feet in front of him with my hands buried in my coat pockets. "It's a fifteen minute walk. Calling this a hike is a little bit dramatic."

"To you, that's a hike," he chuckled, quickly catching up to me so that he could wrap one of his arms around my waist just as I was about to trip over a large root that sprouted across the path. He was much more in tune with nature than I was, but I had been camping with my dad a few times and I wasn't completely hopeless when it came to the outdoors.

"We're here," I piped eagerly and then watched Casey look around the forest in confusion when he didn't notice anything around us except for the hundreds of tall trees. I could tell that he was trying to phrase his confusion in the most complimentary way possible when I finally relieved him of the stress and pointed up toward the canopy. "Well, it's not here. It's up there."

I pointed up and his gaze followed, landing on a large cabin that was built into the trees above us with a thin staircase leading up to the wrap-around porch.

"Oh wow," he exhaled. I grabbed his hand with mine and started pulling him toward the stairs that were somewhat hidden by the color matching terrain. "Are we allowed up there? What if somebody lives there or something."

I couldn't help but laugh, that he thought I would just invite myself into a treehouse cabin without an invitation. "I rented it, Case. It's an Airbnb. We've got the place to ourselves."

Once we were up the stairs, I got in the front door by entering the five digit pass code in the digital door lock. We were quickly engulfed in the warmth of the heated cabin, which was a small space with the entire interior made of light wood, a large bed to the right hand side and a small living room area with a TV to the left. On the back wall, there was a kitchenette and the door to the bathroom.

"Holy shit," Casey mumbled as he took in the view. All four walls had large windows, making it feel like we were in a bubble among the trees, floating with the leaves above everything. "This is incredible."

I sat my backpack on the little couch to pull out all of the supplies I prepared for our trip. "I'm making us lunch and then we're having a movie marathon of all of your favorites. When I was trying to plan something, I kept asking myself what were your favorite things. Trees and curling up at home with a movie were the top two things I could think of, so I combined them."

"You're going to cook?" he wondered apprehensively.

"It's just mac and cheese, don't be too impressed."

"I'm the most impressed, Josie." As I carried my bag of groceries to the little counter in the kitchen area, I noticed him eyeing the bed, made up neatly with a stark white comforter. "How long are we staying for?"

"Well, my plan is to just stay up here for the day, but I did have to rent it by the night, so we technically have the room until tomorrow morning." That was completely the truth, I didn't really plan on spending the night up here. But did I pack pajamas for both of us just in case? Of course I did, I am always prepared for anything. I'm a planner.

It wasn't quite time to start cooking, so I left the groceries on the counter and returned to the couch. After removing my coat and hanging it up on one of the hooks by the door, I pulled out a bottle of champagne and two plastic cups.

"You know, Josie, I was really proud of myself for my date to the Shakespeare museum," he said as I popped open the champagne bottle and he hung up his coat beside mine. Underneath the coat, Casey was wearing a plaid flannel and jeans. "But this makes that look like a date to the local 7/11 for hot dogs and slushies."