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I perked my head up, looking out the passenger side window as we passed the road. “Eddie, you missed our turn.”
“Did I?” Eddie seemed unconcerned. Figuring he was taking the long way rather than turning around, I sat back, fiddling with the radio. Ten minutes and three vaguely familiar 80s hits later, I again sat up, this time mildly annoyed.
“You missed our turn again. Now we have to-” I stopped, suddenly suspicious. Eddie was smiling. “Where are we going?”
Eddie didn’t answer my question, instead glancing at the time and saying, “We’ll be there in about twenty minutes.” His smile widened slightly.
I shook my head in mock frustration. “I would never have gotten in the car if I knew I’d be getting kidnapped today.”
“How unfortunate you figured it out. I had some lovely duct tape to surprise you with,” said Eddie playfully. I chuckled, looking out the window as the area got progressively more rural.
Eddie took a winding dirt road, and as the trees cleared, I saw we had arrived at a farm. “McCoy Orchard,” I said, reading the sign out loud, then turning to Eddie. “An orchard?”
Eddie parked, turning the car off and looking at me with sparkling eyes. “My darling, we are going apple- and pumpkin-picking.”
I grinned. “Wait, really? That’s such a sweet surprise, Eds.” I went to get out but he grabbed my hand, pressing a kiss to my cheek which I reciprocated with a full kiss.
“I love you,” I said.
“I love you too, Waylon.”
We got out of the car, finding the booth. Eddie paid as I gazed over the farm. There was a pumpkin patch next to the parking lot, which already had a few other families picking out pumpkins in it. Behind the pumpkin patch there was a cornfield, which ended in a fence. The rest of the grounds were taken up by an apple orchard, in which I could see a hayride cart making its way along a path. The parking lot was in front of the main group of buildings, which consisted of a barn and gift shop.
Thanking the attendant, Eddie turned to me. “All right, what would you like to do first, Waylon?”
I looked at the pumpkin patch, only a couple hundred feet away. “Why don’t we do that first?”
We passed through the gate into the patch, walking along the rows of curling stems. My breath fogged lightly in the crisp air, and I took Eddie’s hand in mine.
“So do we each pick one?” I asked.
“Yes.”
After a minute of looking around, my eye caught on a lopsided fat pumpkin. I hoisted it up, presenting it to Eddie. “What do you think?”
Eddie smiled. “If that’s the one you want.” He turned, clearly still looking for one himself. I followed him through the patch as he turned and examined several pumpkins, finally deciding on a blemish-free evenly sized one.
We dropped them back at the car before starting out towards the orchard. There were a handful of other people waiting at the site for the hayride. The area had some pots of fall flowers, as well as pumpkins and bales of hay. I took a seat on one, and Eddie’s hand found my hair, playing with it. I leaned against his standing side.
The hayride pulled up, dropping off a group. Each person held a small bag of apples, and their cheeks were flushed from the chilly air. I stood up, Eddie getting on first then lending me an arm to pull me up. We sat, and Eddie and I bonked shoulders as the cart jerkily started along its path.
I gazed around at the scenery of the farm as we went, taking in the contrast between the blueness of the sky and the warmer, earthy colors of the cornfield, as well as the apple trees, their green leaves speckled red with apples. I snuck Eddie a kiss on the cheek, and he put an arm around me.
The cart pulled to a stop further into the orchard and we got off. We each got a bag, then started down the rows of trees, where other people could be seen picking their own apples.
“Any particular variety you would like, Waylon?” Eddie asked, looking at the sign in front of the row we were standing at. Each row was labeled with the variety grown there.
“Uh…I’m not sure. Maybe some of the yellow apples? Golden delicious, I think?” I looked around, seeing a row of them nearby. We headed to it, and I picked a couple, then went with Eddie to a row of gala apples. He then got some granny smith apples, mentioning making a pie and perhaps applesauce if there were any left over.
Our bags full of apples, we meandered back to the stop, getting a ride from the cart again. We took them back to the car, putting them in the trunk next to the pumpkins.
“There’s just one more thing I have planned,” said Eddie, closing the trunk. I raised an eyebrow. Eddie held out his hand and I took it, walking with him to the barn/gift shop. The decorations inside were themed to be autumnal and rustic, with pumpkins and fairy lights, as well as maple leaf garlands and various farm items. Most of the area had various local goods for sale, and there was a food stand on one wall.
Eddie took me there first, and ordered us each an apple cider doughnut with a cup of hot apple cider. We ate as we strolled around, looking at the various things for sale without any expectation of buying something in mind. Eventually we picked out a small item each. I got beeswax chapstick in anticipation of winter, and Eddie got a three-pack of organic dyed thread. We also bought a gallon of cider to bring home.
As I buckled my seatbelt, I turned to Eddie, who was putting the key in the ignition. “Thank you for today. I had a wonderful time.”
“I knew you would, my love.” Eddie smiled at me. I leaned in to give him a kiss on the cheek but he turned, kissing me on the mouth. I smiled against his lips. Pulling away, I grinned.
“I love you.” He smelled like cider and cinnamon, cheeks rosy from the fall air. The sun was setting outside, casting an amber glow on his features. Eddie met my gaze.
“I love you too.”