Fact and Fancy

Written for Fictionalizing Autobiography

August 29th, 2009

We met at noon and began our walk through the Redmond Watershed. I did my best to stifle my mouth-breathing, and secretly admired my new and first boyfriend as he led the way. He carried a backpack with him, filled with materials for our picnic. I was not in love with chicken soup, but it seemed to both of us to be the only food fitting for our first date. He had neatly packed sourdough bread bowls, water bottles, and the soup packages in his backpack. I found myself wondering the entire time how he managed to avoid spilling the soup, even though they were just in the flimsy containers Panera Bread uses when you order ‘to go’. The weather was perfect for a walk. I was grateful for the beautiful weather, and Will commented that he was too.

I had a nasty cold, but Will assured me that it was okay; he had one too. What a pair we make, I thought, and then repeated aloud for his benefit.

He smiled and handed me a tissue. My congested head pounded and my mind whirled; that smiling boy is my boyfriend now.

My ‘Thank you’ came out as ‘Thang hew’. With that chuckle of his that makes me fall in love all over again, he took my hand and gave it a comforting squeeze; he thought my congested voice was cute, and suddenly I didn‘t mind that my head felt like it was going to explode.

Our walk wound along all of the familiar trails. Secretly, I was impressed with myself that I survived all four and a half miles. We had run those trails almost daily for summer training, but this was our first time walking them together. This time was my favorite; I didn’t normally run these trails while I held a boy’s hand.

There were few people on the trails that day, in spite of the sunny weather. I remember one distinct couple who smiled at us as we ate lunch; I smiled back, then sheepishly wiped my nose. We stopped for lunch just before a hill. The hill didn’t appear so great to me at first, but as I rose and blood rushed up to my congested head, it was nearly worth fainting over. My body was weak. In defiance I forced it up the hill with the promise that I would treat it better later.

Will talked to me nearly the whole way up the hill. I wished he could have shared some of that vivacity with me.

We spent an hour and a half on the walk itself, though we had nearly three hours blocked out. I survived, my pockets stuffed with used tissues and my throat full of phlegm; I wasn’t sure if I was grossed out or proud of myself.

With a smile, Will offered to take me to Starbucks. He always knows the right things to say, I thought, and eagerly joined him for our refreshing rewards.

~Brittanie V.