The Vacation Walk

After a huge breakfast, Leo and Claire chat with Leo's parents for a bit. The conversation is light, but not vacant. It's just...nice. 

"I think we'll go for a walk before the rain starts again." Leo stands. "Thanks again for breakfast. It was delicious as usual. 

Leo's Dad smiles. "I still have plans to open a restaurant." He laughs. "I'll get the hot tub heating. You're gonna be cold after that walk." 

Leo's Mom laughs. "I turned the heat up last night. It should be all good to go."

Claire watches the parents hug and exchange fun praises of each other. ________

"Your parents are so nice." Claire smiles and breathes in the cold, crisp air.  

"They really are lovely people. Shane brought it up in front of Zoe and I kinda felt bad. Her Mother seems...challenging."

"That's one word for it." 

"Come on. I'll show you around."

________

"So, mind a little uphill? There are a few nice spots up there." Leo points and Claire is all in. 

They move up the wet hillside and chat about plants and trees. Claire loves being out in the country like this and is happy that she took the time off to meet Leo out here after Christmas. Getting away felt great. 

"I used to hang out here for hours reading. The trees provided shelter from the rain and the heat, so it was a year round joy to hang here with a good book." Leo smiles, reflecting on the time. 

"I love this old wall." Claire touches it, then leans into Leo. Part of her wants to say she loves him, but she stops herself.

"If you're up for it, we can walk the wall to the spot I want to take you to. Or we can go around if you don't want to do the height."

"Boost me up." Claire smiles and Leo boosts her up the wall.

"Wish you weren't wearing those leggings. The view would have been nice." 

"Perv!" She giggles and struggles, but manages to make it up. She pants and catches her breath, then turns to help Leo up. "Leo?" She looks, but he's gone.

"LEO?!" She looks around for him, spooked after the events around Christmas. "Leo?!"

Leo sneaks up behind her and pounces.

"SH!T!" Claire shrieks as Leo laughs. "Where....how did you get up here?!"

"The stairs." He smirks. 

"Stairs? Why did you make me climb then?" She grins. 

"YOU said boost you up, so I did." He giggles. 

"Nice," Claire grumbles with a smile. "You owe me a kiss for that bullshit." 

Leo leans over and kisses her. Claire pulls him down on top of her and loves the pressure of his body and the warmth of him. They lay there together for a long while.....

Claire kisses Leo again, smiles, then whispers, "Better."

"Ready to go?"

Claire nods and moves along with Leo.

"Ok...just watch your step here. It's mossy and high up."

"Got it." Claire slips around the pole and moves down the wall after Leo clears it. She stops and looks down the hillside at the trees. "Wow...."

Leo stops with her. "Yeah...pretty nice."

"How much of it do your parents own?" 

Leo chuckles - a bit shy about answering. "Uh...from the house over to the river there."

"WOW!" Claire laughs. That's a lot of land. It's beautiful. What a great place to spend your childhood."

Leo smiles, happy she didn't go to a conversation about money. He takes her hand and they look out over the trees as the first sprinkles of rain fall.

Leo and Claire stare up at the small "waterfall" - a city water channel pipe that flows into the river. 

"When it really rains, that thing is a monster. A lot of water flows out. One year a kid fell in and got pretty badly bashed up in the river. Last time he ever got that close."

"I like it. You could plant ivy around it and really sell the magic of it." 

Leo hugs her. He loves her positive nature. 

______

Back at the house, the two of them stare off down the hillside to the valley below. 

Behind them, Leo's mother starts to walk up with her phone to take a photo of them with her husband close behind. She stops and stops her husband with a light hand on his chest. She whispers, "They'll be time for a photo later, Kevin. Let's let them be."

The man smiles and nods, taking a minute to look at the couple before heading back inside. 

The Darcy situation - Story images

"Mark - can you take some photos of us?" 

Kim giggled thinking back on the photos she took earlier. 

 Mark grabbed his camera and waved the girls in together. "Huddle up!"

The girls moved into their spaces and struck some poses. This was the first time they had a photo of all of them together since the house upgrade.

"Cindy! God damn it, will you stop horsin' around!" She said it, but no one expected her to be serious. Ever. 

"So, you going to serenade me before I head off, Darcy? You promised, remember?"

Darcy smiled and grabbed her guitar. "Sure. But...I told you...I'm not that good."

Mark smiled. "Look good so far." He winked.

Darcy finished her acoustic version of Wonderwall and slipped the guitar back into its floor rack. 

"Well...that's about it. I'm getting better." 

"I thought it was fantastic." He smiled and Darcy's stomach did butterfly backflips.

_________

Later that night....

________

"No Kim today?"

"Naw - she was up with Darcy most of the night last night talking her off the ledge." She sighed and tried to keep up with "Miss Fit". Her blonde hair fluttered around her head.

Miss Fit dropped to the ground and started up the second round of stretches. "Man...Darcy is a mess."

"Yeah. A bit. Cindy was out and Darcy called Kim into her room in a crying jag about something. No one is sure." She felt the growing heat start to bring out the sweat. 

"Is there anything we can do?"

"Maybe get her Prince Charming to notice more than her guitar playing?" 

"Jesus...more?" 

"Hellz to the yeah, Blondie. Gotta keep this bod tip top!" She smiled.

________

Back at the house, the girls discuss the Darcy situation. 

Kim absently clicked away at the computer and muttered, "What was that adult site with the amazon position stuff again?"

"Kim!"

"Just joking.....kinda..."

"So, Darcy?" Mis Fit pet the dog and played with its ears.

"Am I the most shite sister on the planet or what? I don't know what to do with her. She's always been like this. Just...sad and depressed."

"And YOU'RE the one that listens to all that dark ass got stuff. The irony." Miss Fit smiled.

"Sorry." Miss Fit went back to petting the dog.

"It's that CNN dude. He's making her crazy with his maybe, maybe not bullshit. I heard them and can understand why she's so messed up. He's so vague with her."

"She's just so...fragile. Ever since that stuff when down two years ago, she's been mooning around and drinking too much." Cindy fell into a chair - unsure of wha to do next. "She says she's ok, but then she'll do that wacky shit she did last night." Cindy looked at Kim. "Thanks again, Kim. Really."

Kim nodded and smiled before yawning again. "My pleasure....but I need a nap." She excused herself and headed to the room.

"We'll help however we can, Cin." Miss Fit smiled. "We're in this together."

Cindy smiled up at her, then looked to the floor. "It means a lot. Really."

"Where is Darcy now?"

___________

Darcy was hung over and out in the middle of nowhere. The coffee and danish she had earlier had given her enough fuel and drive to walk out into the fields, but now she had to walk back under the full bake of the sunshine. She stared at the book of spells, then headed off. 

"Fuck, it's hot...."

Darcy finally made it to some shade and sat down. She looked at the book again as sweat dripped off her forehead.

"Seriously? A SPELL book, Darcy? What are you - a child?" 

Darcy stood up and let the book drop to the ground.

It took her a full seven steps before going back for it. 

"Not even my book. Cindy would kill me if I left her book out here." 

She headed for home.