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- Story Listed as: Fiction For Adults
- Theme: Love stories / Romance
- Subject: Love / Romance / Dating
- Published: 01/28/2023
She walked next to him. Intrigued. I mean who invites a woman out for a walk for their first date.
It was a beautiful early summer day, the humidity that fuels all the old sayings about: “It isn’t the heat, it is the humidity!” hadn’t kicked in yet. She was shy at first. He was at ease.
“Look, do you know what kind of tree that is?”
She looked over where he was pointing. She knew it was a tree…a hardwood. That, was as far as her knowledge went.
“I know it is hardwood.”
He smiled.
“Let’s go check it out.”
They left the dirt path that meandered through hundreds of tiny trails in the Park. He surprised her by taking her hand and having her touch the bark.
A piece of bark broke off in her hand.
“Take a good look at the bark.”
She did.
He started to explain why some bark peels off a tree…and some bark breaks off. They spent the next hour examining trees. Some, like the Pines, he told her not to touch.
“Why?”
“Because the sap is really hard to get off…and on clothes….well it can turn most materials into rags. Every heard of Pine-sol?”
“Yes! My Mom used it to clean our floors. I loved that smell. It smelled like the outdoors.”
He smiled at her.
“My Mom did too. The guy that started Pine-Sol lived in the middle of a pine forest. He realized that it made a good disinfectant, and deodorizer. So he started a Company that has lasted over a century and a half. Most of the things we use to heal ourselves come from plants.”
“Are you some kind of Plant Medicine Guru or something?”
He laughed. She liked his laugh. It was open and unforced.
“Oh, no. Not at all. I grew up in a part of West Virginia that folks refer to as: “the Hollers”. In the Hollers there isn’t much in the way of modern health care, nor the money to pay for it. So my Mom and most of the women folk would go a gathering up in the meadows. Usually me and my brother and sister tagged along. She showed us things about the plants. “
She found herself getting interested in what he was both saying, and showing her as they trundled along the paths.
“Like what things?”
“Oh, I don’t know, how to make dandelion tea, or pine needle tea. She knew how to make a poultice for your chest, or one to suck out a wound.”
“What’s a poultice…I have never heard that word before.”
And so it went. She learned how to tell a Red Oak, from a White Oak, a Birch Tree from an Aspen…even tho they look similar. He took her down to the creek and showed her why willow trees have to be near a lot of water. The sun started to get lower in the sky. She noticed (much to her surprise) that they had been walking for hours. It didn’t seem that long.
She also noticed she was now holding his hand. She wondered when that happened. It seemed…well…natural. She didn’t want to let go…so she did not.
She called her Mom as soon as she got home.
“Mom, I am going to get married!”
“What? You just met the guy. This was your first date. How do you know he is the right guy?”
She laughed out loud.
“Because I drank pine needle tea with him.”
“What?!”
She laughed again.
“And we went for a long long walk.”
“What did you two do on your date?”
“Nothing, we just walked and talked. It was beautiful.”
And it was.
Walking and talking.(Kevin Hughes)
She walked next to him. Intrigued. I mean who invites a woman out for a walk for their first date.
It was a beautiful early summer day, the humidity that fuels all the old sayings about: “It isn’t the heat, it is the humidity!” hadn’t kicked in yet. She was shy at first. He was at ease.
“Look, do you know what kind of tree that is?”
She looked over where he was pointing. She knew it was a tree…a hardwood. That, was as far as her knowledge went.
“I know it is hardwood.”
He smiled.
“Let’s go check it out.”
They left the dirt path that meandered through hundreds of tiny trails in the Park. He surprised her by taking her hand and having her touch the bark.
A piece of bark broke off in her hand.
“Take a good look at the bark.”
She did.
He started to explain why some bark peels off a tree…and some bark breaks off. They spent the next hour examining trees. Some, like the Pines, he told her not to touch.
“Why?”
“Because the sap is really hard to get off…and on clothes….well it can turn most materials into rags. Every heard of Pine-sol?”
“Yes! My Mom used it to clean our floors. I loved that smell. It smelled like the outdoors.”
He smiled at her.
“My Mom did too. The guy that started Pine-Sol lived in the middle of a pine forest. He realized that it made a good disinfectant, and deodorizer. So he started a Company that has lasted over a century and a half. Most of the things we use to heal ourselves come from plants.”
“Are you some kind of Plant Medicine Guru or something?”
He laughed. She liked his laugh. It was open and unforced.
“Oh, no. Not at all. I grew up in a part of West Virginia that folks refer to as: “the Hollers”. In the Hollers there isn’t much in the way of modern health care, nor the money to pay for it. So my Mom and most of the women folk would go a gathering up in the meadows. Usually me and my brother and sister tagged along. She showed us things about the plants. “
She found herself getting interested in what he was both saying, and showing her as they trundled along the paths.
“Like what things?”
“Oh, I don’t know, how to make dandelion tea, or pine needle tea. She knew how to make a poultice for your chest, or one to suck out a wound.”
“What’s a poultice…I have never heard that word before.”
And so it went. She learned how to tell a Red Oak, from a White Oak, a Birch Tree from an Aspen…even tho they look similar. He took her down to the creek and showed her why willow trees have to be near a lot of water. The sun started to get lower in the sky. She noticed (much to her surprise) that they had been walking for hours. It didn’t seem that long.
She also noticed she was now holding his hand. She wondered when that happened. It seemed…well…natural. She didn’t want to let go…so she did not.
She called her Mom as soon as she got home.
“Mom, I am going to get married!”
“What? You just met the guy. This was your first date. How do you know he is the right guy?”
She laughed out loud.
“Because I drank pine needle tea with him.”
“What?!”
She laughed again.
“And we went for a long long walk.”
“What did you two do on your date?”
“Nothing, we just walked and talked. It was beautiful.”
And it was.
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- 4
Lillian Kazmierczak
02/01/2023More proof that the simple things in life are so precious. I feel like story could have been about you, Kevin. I love sweet romance stories. You do know when its right! what a heartwarming story you wrote!
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Kevin Hughes
02/01/2023Very astute observation Lillian, Kathy and I had just come back from the beach...and we walked hand in hand for the whole time. Just like we do every time. I think most of us Writer's rely on some aspect of our lives (or thoughts) to flesh out our stories. So there is a grain of non fiction in every fiction. LOL
Smiles, Kevin
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Shelly Garrod
01/28/2023A beautiful story of friendship, love and wonderment.
Blessings Shelly
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Kevin Hughes
01/28/2023Thanks Shelly,
I married my best friend...and that lasts a long time.
Smiles, Kevin
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Radrook
01/28/2023Very informative and entertaining story. Also one that conveys a very importat truth,: that Attraction leading to marriage should be based on mutual interests and compatibility of personalities. Thanks for sharing.
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COMMENTS (4)