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Text of the page (random words):
the bed was custom formed fitted to steve s sleeping style and it certainly didn t match mine it wasn t just the bed it was the jumbo jet airplane that was buzzing about the room and bumping into the sunlit windows that was the most annoying in fact it was every sound from the plants that were growing in the sunlight just outside the bedroom window to the cars passing on roadways for miles around to the toilet that leaked in steve s bathroom and continued the flushing over and over again i was wired my normal caffeine free system was in a state of overload after two hours of shear torture i crawled out of bed showered and put on a sunshiny face but my head was still throbbing mary was sleeping so i made my way to the garage where mary s dad jack was sorting and cleaning although we had formerly met when we arrived that morning we still needed to get the manly order of business behind us so what do you do for a living jack asked i own an auto body and custom paint shop mary s car looks nice did you do that it s just a clear coat you did a nice job he said as he pulled a filter wrench from his tool box why don t you come with me i m going to the parts store to get oil and a filter for her car we climbed into jack s little vw pickup truck and headed for the parts store we spoke of the weather where i stood with religion minor economic opinions and plans for the day s forth of july celebrations i was being checked out and i wasn t quite sure why i wondered if i was the first guy mary had ever brought home or if something had transpired in their conversations after i had tried to catch a restless morning nap finally we put the last touches on the oil change and the detailed thirty point checkup on mary s little car when jack unzipped his coveralls and pulled them from his shoes mary told us about her plans to travel to europe with her friend steve he said as he folded them neatly and stacked them on the shelf jack didn t even look up to see my reaction he simply continued cleaning the oil from filter wrench with the rag he d had tucked in the pocked of his coveralls how do you feel about that i was a little taken back i thought steve was out of the picture i don t like it very much i said jack nodded we don t like it much either jack said as he placed the wrench in his tool box and turned to face me i have a solution i began i ll just marry her and take her there on our honeymoon jack s head moved thoughtfully up and down as he continued mary s mother and i spoke about that after you went to bed this morning and we think that would be just fine i had just asked jack for mary s hand in marriage and my request had been granted two down only one to go the morning continued with pancakes and bacon and a quick cleanup of the kitchen before mary was ready to go we first went to meet mary s sister dianne and husband rob and their two children it didn t take long before rob and i had become friends we chatted about the old rig he was restoring i don t remember what vehicle it was maybe a willies jeep but i gave him a few professional tips meanwhile dianne was grilling mary about the new guy me where did you meet him how long have you known each other is it serious mary explained we were just friends but dianne wasn t convinced as the morning turned into afternoon we had watched the military air show in seattle and then the entire family and friend settled on the hillside in the park for the afternoon picnic it was all fine with the exception of the fact that i was still just running on the three ten minute segments of sleep i had stolen between the automatic toilet flushes at seven thirty am to my good fortune the nodoz was finally out of my system and my brain was ready to unwind by mid afternoon we returned to the living room where i settled down on the couch to relax mary soon joined me and sat on the edge where i was laying i m so mad at my dad she said i could scream i crossing my hands behind my head and leaned forward why he said the exact same thing you said about europe she replied i know mary turned toward me with a puzzled look on her face what do you mean you know he told me that the two of you talked about it this morning with a slightly defiant tone mary asked why would he tell you he asked me how i felt about it what did you say mary s tone was already rising as she anticipated my answer i told him i could marry you and take you to europe on a honeymoon he agreed mary looked bewildered my heart was pounding as i fiddled in my pocket she attempted to change the subject but struggled to find a topic that suited the situation after the awkward pause i pulled my hand from my pocket with a diamond engagement ring perched precariously on my index finger i m quite serious i said calmly as my heart pounded furiously within my chest mary nearly fell off the couch and then struggled to catch her breath she glanced frantically between the ring and her little brother who sat oblivious to our conversation in the other room mary tried to speak and finally mustered put that thing away i continued to stand my ground and held the ring firmly near her face i knew it would be a shock to her system but the timing and conversation couldn t have been better if i had planned the moment put that thing away she said again in a frantic whisper mary was still worried about her brother but more worried someone might see the ring i lowered my hand and waited while she regained her breath and composure somehow i already knew exactly what she would say next i waited for the answer and i knew what my reply would be i haven t even prayed about this yet she whispered maybe it s time you did it was the walk along the railroad tracks that gave it time to all sink in mary had dozens of questions how do you think we ll get along how many children do you want when would we start a family would she be a stay at home mom or would she work and so on i had already purchased a home and had rented it with the idea i would move in after i was married so we already knew where we could live the conversation was comfortable it fit the two of us like all the other comfortable conversations we d had so many times before obviously i had a great deal more time to process the idea of marriage enough time to shop for and purchase a ring time to think about a marriage proposal if the timing was right and i had already had time to think through many of the questions mary was just then contemplating i suppose that was our first real romantic date holding hands and imagining a future together the budding love was revealing its first beautiful colors that afternoon on the tracks in sumner washington we were both so young and the outlook of our lives seemed so full of promise i m sure that mary started to ponder the thought of growing old with me bearing my children raising those children together and maneuvering our way through life s little obstacles i am certain that neither of us ever thought about breast cancer the following day sunday afternoon mary gave me her official answer a resounding yes she told me that she had been sitting in church holding my hand watching the little family sitting on the pew in front of us when the question of her own prayer was answered she imagined the two of us with little stair step children sitting at our side it was a wave of comfort that gave her the sweet reassurance our union would be blessed our monday drive home is when the real planning began it was the first time in my life i d ever had such an intimate conversation with a woman but it too was comfortable mary beamed as we planned a wedding date the twenty second of august it would be her mother who would cringe at such a short notice we d been dating or should i say growing our friendship for nearly four months and there didn t seem to be any reason why we should have a long engagement newness excitement anticipation and adventure all combined to make a twelve hour drive seem like time was standing still it must have been the most awkward moment of our engagement that evening standing at mary s front door step our first kiss maybe not the romantic passionate true love ideal of the very first kiss the kind of kiss every girl might dream of but the start to a new and exciting part of our continuing friendship posted by the walkers at 5 10 pm no comments sunday july 18 2010 chapter eight timbre colors of love before i go on i must tell the story of the 79 ford festia it was the first near new car that mary s had purchased on her own it was a cute little thing and in a day when gas was equivalent to about four dollars a gallon today she had made a good choice it was the little red car that could and it got at least thirty miles to the gallon she was quite pleased that she only had a year before she would pay it off and then it would be hers free and clear the sad part was the paint already just two years into the aging process the car looked like it was old it wasn t chipped or dinged much just flat dull and lifeless one evening i was teasing her she ought to rub a little luster back into its lifeless look in mary s innocence s she claimed she had washed the car when it was needed but had never understood the call for to wax anyone younger than about forty has probably never waxed a car for the reason car wax was first invented the reason behind that assumption is that automotive paints beginning in the early eighties changed from acrylics to urethanes the monthly ritual of car wax became a thing of the past perhaps a brief understanding of the language of love might be helpful before i continue me i demonstrate love by service it s hardwired into me somehow and i ve never become very efficient in the other languages mary on the other hand likes thoughtful little gifts as one of the ways she hears recognizes my love the album card and yellow rose that i had covertly placed in her car had made a big impression but i thought i was about to deliver the mother of all tokens of our growing friendship one evening prior to mary s trip to zions park we thought it might be nice to buff her car we went to my shop and began working together to give the car some luster as we worked i realized we were only making a temporary fix and got the brilliant idea we should just apply a new urethane clear coat that would be a permanent fix mary was anxious to help and insisted on diving right in i gave her some very fine sandpaper and detailed instructions to help her avoid sanding through the paint into the primer five minutes into our procedure mary polished the paint to the bare metal i didn t want to hurt her feelings and really didn t want to repaint the entire car so we decided a gold pinstripe might be nice i did the rest of the sanding after i gave mary a ride home the balance of the night was spent taping windows and bumpers and preparing the little red car for a face lift by morning the car shone as bright as the cute little owner that drove it i picked mary up early drove her back to the shop and delivered the car she was delighted its new luster had a tinge of gold pearl that gleamed in the rays of the sun but still seemed pail to the shining face of its owner july 17 2010 we just returned from our first colorful excursion in the seabreeze we started a little late last night mary had picked up a half a shift for someone at work who had been desperate and returned home about a quarter to seven austin was the last one to arrive at seven thirty he had the pizza so it wasn t optional to leave him behind daniel was ahead of us in his new previously owned toyota 4 runner american fork canyon was our destination close convenient and familiar we had planned on finding a nice secluded spot near the river to build a campfire sit in the cool night air roast some marshmallows and make somores right i haven t been up the canyon on a friday night lately wall to wall cars dist a half inch thick on everything every campground full to the brim and we re in a 32 foot motor home kinley had been our local betty crocker from the moment she woke until the moment we pulled from the curb she had been busy packing everything we needed or might need on our simple overnight excursion for example she had packed her suitcase with two weeks of clothing and had filled the cupboards with nearly 20 pounds of dog food in gallon size zip lock bags for slim he needs about a cup of dog food a day we had full packages of q tips opened and scattered on the floor enough books to fill a library bookshelf so we could read on our trip together and kinley had gotten online and had thoughtfully printed a map and brochure of the skyway camping resort only 2 hours away from new your city if there was ever a possibility of anyone else with the sweet purity of kinley in this world who enjoys the simple pleasures of life like she does their family would be blessed as ours has been blessed by about four o clock in the afternoon and with a little patience i began to write lists for kinley to work on all in the final preparation for our trip she packed hoses around the house and filled the water tank loaded food in the fridge gathered toilet paper and paper towels single handedly she nearly packed everything we needed for the trip i think the ambient temperature yesterday was near 100 degrees the motor home was 120 degrees before i started the generator and air conditioning at about ten to seven in preparation to leave it cooled to at least 105 by the time we piled in to hit the road ken mary austin kayshia kinley and yes two dogs slim and kayla some people love dogs i used to be one of those people my love of dogs went away when the term went from dog to dogs dog hair dogs in the house licking poop on the carpet barking dogs in beds children fighting over who gets the dog tonight six hundred dollar vet bills because the dog ate a fish hook nasty letters from neighbors poop on the lawn holes in the grass dead baby ducks i could go on for at least another page but i won t i love the dogs because my wife and children love them someday the children will be gone and then the dogs will only visit by the time we pulled off the freeway we had cooled to a mild 95 degrees both dogs were wedged into the space between mary s knees and the dashboard or on her lap with there wet noses and panting tongues pressed indiscriminately against the window did i mention dog saliva on my pants arms and windows is one of my favorite things cars and suv s were backed up a hundred yards waiting to pay the six dollar fee at the us forest service toll booth when we arrived i guess our first hint of trouble should have been the all campgrounds full sign that hung from the booth no worries we had everything we needed right there in the motor home the second sign of trouble was no camping outside of designated campgrounds the real problems started when it appeared like we would need to find a place to turn the thirty two foot monster around on the one lane dirt road wi...