The Protector: Broken (working title)

Chapter 29: A SPIN ON ETERNITY

Mark was really worried about the outcome of this court date. He had rambled more than once about fixing it, going back and fixing it, but always concluded it wouldn't change enough. I was afraid to ask. He spent as much time with me as possible, taking a few days off until then and a few days after. We still wanted to have an official wedding and hadn't sent out the invites yet, so we decided we would set another date once we saw what would happen.

Feeling some time 'away from it all' would be a good thing for both of us, Mark decided we should go camping in the mountains and it was amazing. We tied and stashed our stuff to the motorcycle like a packhorse, including a tent and fishing poles. I enjoyed this special time with him. We got to see different sides of each other: I got to see the side of him that was less perfectionist. He didn't mind the dirt and mud and smelly no shower bodies. He got to see the calm side of me. Yes, it exists. Being lost in a clearing surrounded by trees and mountains and water I felt at ease. This was a place I could trust. I had less fear of a bear attack in the woods than I did of a jerk attack in the city. He was especially surprised when I found a praying mantis and brought it to him, enamored.

"That's a bug. You touch bugs?" he said slightly patronizing.

"I love bugs! Don't you?"

He reached out his hand calmly and allowed the insect to cling onto him.

"Look at him, isn't he amazing?" I asked in awe. Mark didn't respond, but just admired with me. "You know, when I look at a creature like this, I am once again convinced that God exists." I put it back where I found it, and then just looked at my surroundings with more awe and peacefulness. "It's hard to imagine there's a concern in the world when I'm up here..."

Mark squeezed me tightly. "And that, my love, is exactly why we are here."

Our fishing excursion was successful. We caught three bass, but decided we only needed one to make a meal for the evening and let the others go. We stopped at dusk, and went back to our campsite. We started to pull out the tent, but then I stopped suddenly, tapping my chin in thought.

"What's up?" he noticed my hesitation.

"Are we expecting rain?"

"No. Why?"

"What do we need the tent for?"

He smiled approvingly. "I agree completely. What do we need a tent for?" He secured it back onto the bike. And we zipped our oversized sleeping bags together. Dinner was simple; He actually had taken me on a hike earlier and knew which plants were safe to eat, so we had sautéed greens with our fillet. I had even helped clean and prepare the fish. I felt like a girl scout on her first campout, I was learning so much from him!

"Is there anything you can't do?" I asked with a mock worship while we ate our meal. "You cook, you camp, you read minds..."

"Well, that's three things...that leaves out a very long list of things I might not be able to do. I can't dance!" he placed a tender bit in my mouth.