Desert Flower

While Evie was showering, I quietly opened the bathroom door and peeked my head in. Her back was turned to me, so I quickly ran in and grabbed her ring. Once I was safely back in the bedroom, I texted Cleo to let her know I had the ring. She texted back a thumbs up, and I went to change.

The door to the bathroom opened and Evie looked down at her hands as she said, “I seem to have misplaced my engagement ring.”

I hid my smile as I raised an eyebrow. “I thought you were wearing it when you went to the bathroom.” I looked at my watch to check the time. We needed to leave soon.

“I did,” she said quietly. Frustration was beginning to show in her eyes. I forgot how bad her day had been.

“Oh love, we’ll find it when we get home, okay?” Walking over to her, I pulled her into a hug. She nodded her head and off we went to set my plan in motion. Evie still looked upset when we arrived at the Thai restaurant. I held onto her waist as we walked inside and watched her face light up as all our friends greeted us.

“You look so pretty, Evie!” Tally said and hugged both of us. Her husband, Greg, nodded and shook both our hands. He was a quiet guy with a long beard and dark hair.

Leah bounded up to us and smiled. “That dress really shows off those sleeves I helped give you. I can’t wait to finish that one!” She pointed at Evie’s left arm.

“Well, you’re going to have to wait,” Evie said on a laugh.

It continued like that, ending with Cleo and Brian hugging each of us, and all of us making our way to the table.

Everyone ordered a different dish and dinner was a whirlwind of laughter, eating, drinking, and wedding talk. I’d periodically look at Evie who was often times not engaging. She looked so upset. I reached over and grabbed her hand, kissing the back of it. She gave me a small smile.

Once all the food was gone and the meal was paid for, we waved goodbye and hopped into my truck. I took a hold of Evie’s hand again as I drove us to the park to watch the sunset.
She smiled when I pulled into a spot at the park. I kissed her hand as I got out of the car to help her out. Picking her up by the waist, I lifted her out of the car, kissing her as she passed my lips. Evie laughed then and pecked my lips again. We were both smiling as we held hands walking into the park.

We stopped at a bench and sat down. I put my arm over her shoulders and pulled her close to me. We both looked up at the sky and watched as the sun began to descend.

“What’s your schedule look like next week?” Evie asked.

“Prepping for the tour. I thought you had the rodeo.”

“I do. But it’s ten days long, and something’s come up. So I figured I can go for four or five days. I can still get a lot of good shots during those days.”

I turned to face her. “Evangeline, what’s going on?”

She looked me in the eye. “Can we talk about it later?”

I could see tears in her eyes this time and nodded. She cuddled into my side, and we went back to enjoying the sunset.

It wasn’t like the ones in Reno, but it was still pretty. There were many different shades of oranges in there. Evie stared at the sky. With her head tilted back like that, she looked like a little girl. I smiled, watching her instead of the sunset. She was beautiful, but the more I looked at her, the more I realized she was gorgeous because of the way she viewed the world. It was unlike anyone else. Her eyes closed and slowly opened. If I didn’t know better, I would think she had been praying.

My phone buzzed. I pulled it out and saw that Brian and the others were ready. Putting my phone back in my pocket, I stood up and pulled Evie with me.

“How about some ice cream?” I asked and started walking back to the car.

“Only if it’s that place on the square.”

I smiled. “Deal.” Smiling, I watched as Evie tried to decide on a flavor of ice cream. She examined them like she would a subject to photograph. Her tongue darted out to lick her lips, and I laughed. She looked back at me and flashed a grin.

“Can I have a scoop of lemon, please?” She finally asked.

“And may I have cookies and cream?” I asked the high school kid. He nodded and scooped our ice cream into cups. I paid and took Evie’s hand to guide her to our friends.

She laughed as she took a spoonful of my ice cream. I sent her a joking glare and stopped at a spot of grass in the center of the square. Lights were covering the trees and blankets dotted the ground. Our friends waved as we sat down by them. Evie grinned, her first real one of the night.

Leah and Cleo pulled her away from me and to where the parade would pass by. I smiled as I watched her. She looked so happy.

Notes

Hiiii so I'm a dirty liar.