within the meadow √ h.s.

s e v e n

on the day of the date, delilah was a shaking mess. she had never been on a date before because she always managed to keep hidden behind a book while growing up. so here she was at twenty years old driving back to the cafe where she agreed to meet harry so he could drive them to their destination.

they both had been excited during the days leading up to it and life went on as usual, just with a little bit more enthusiasm between them.

harry was already at the cafe which was already closed, so he waiting in the empty parking lot leaning against his car staying occupied on his phone. he had put a lot of thought into where he would take delilah and what they would do, and he hoped she would like what he had planned.

she finally pulled up in her beat up car and when harry saw her walk up to him after parking, he was in awe. his fingers craved to move along a blank page and keep this moment of the glowing beauty forever on a piece of paper. he wanted to always be able to look back on the day they went on their first date on a beautiful spring day when delilah wore a baby blue sundress and looked divine as her skin glowed and her eyes shined. but for now he would have to capture this moment by memory, like he would do for many other moments.

"you look stunning," harry breathed out. delilah blushed and looked at the ground before thanking him.

"you look very handsome," she smiled as she admired the white button up that displayed a few tattoos she didn't know he wore.

harry thanked her with a smile plastered on his face and led her to the passenger side of the car and opened the door for her.

as harry began the drive delilah decided she wasn't fond of the not knowing regarding their date. "so, are you going to tell me where you're taking me?" her voice was eager and harry smiled and looked over at her.

"hm, i could. but that wouldn't be much fun for me, now would it?" he teased as she sighed playfully and looked out the window. the music in the car was soft, and harry hummed along to the song beautifully causing a small smile to rest on delilah's lips.

when harry began driving down the familiar road delilah had seen hundreds of times, she became more curious as to what harry had planned. when he parked the car in the same place she would and the bright colors and fresh flowery air lingered in her senses, she realized she didn't care what he had planned, she was happy where she was and who she was with.

harry quickly ran around to delilah's door and opened it before she could even finish unbuckling her seatbelt and held her hand to provide unnecessary help to step out of the car. he knew she could step out of the car on her own, he just wanted to feel her skin on his.

when he opened the back door and pulled out a basket and folded blanket, delilah asked herself how she had not seen the items placed in the backseat. but that thought was quickly disregarded when she realized he had planned a picnic for them.

the idea was one delilah appreciated and imagined herself after reading a romance novel for pleasure, not knowledge. she thought it was a cute and simple thought, and the fact that it happened right in front of her eyes to herself made her ecstatic.

"shall we?" harry asked holding his hand out for delilah to take as he held the basket in one hand and stuck the blanket under his other arm.

delilah nodded excitedly and took his hand as he led them down a small hill to the empty field of flowers that they both adored. when they reached the grassy patch, harry laid the blanket down on the ground and placed the basket on top of it. delilah's heart was warm and her cheeks hurt from the smile on her face, and harry was nervous about whether or not delilah was impressed because he knew she deserved a smile on her face, but he didn't know that he had done more than she could ever ask for and she adored everything about the green eyed angel.

+

they ate and talked and laughed and smiled. the sun was shining and the flowers were awake and vibrant just like the spark between delilah and harry.

"did anything specific spark your interest in the arts?" delilah asked, taking a bite out of a strawberry.

"when i would spend summers with my grandparents, my grandfather spent hours in his studio. one day i saw he painted my grandmother, and it was just amazing. a simple portrait of her captured so much. i didn't know how he did it, and so i started spending those hours with him and while we painted, or drew he would have recited poetry on tape playing," harry explained. "i got into music when my mother signed me up for the school band. i hated it because it was always so uniform and restricted, but i loved how i had the option to create something other than visuals on a canvas or paper. so i asked for my own instruments and taught myself how to play a few so i didn't have to follow a guideline or anything."

they were now laying on their backs staring up at the sky that didn't have a cloud in sight. delilah felt the warmth as she laid there, and although she wasn't a fan of the heat or warmth, she knew this warmth wasn't coming from the sun. the warmth was from within as she laid next to harry.

"can i ask you something?" harry asked hesitantly.

"yeah," delilah answered mindlessly.

"how come you were so interested in my art? most people just glance at it, but you looked at each piece so intensely," harry rambled about his wonders.

"i've actually never been one for art. it was always too interpretive for me and so fluid. i need something concrete and definitive so i'm not stuck trying to figure out what a piece means. i don't have a creative bone in my body, and i need facts instead of opinions which is why nonfiction books are my favorite," delilah's voice was smooth as she gave harry a piece of her mind as he wanted. "your art just kind of fit with you like a puzzle piece, i guess. they showed a part of you which was almost like a fact being revealed. it was the first time i looked at art and saw more than what was in front of me."