Senior Year: The Night Before Life Goes On

“Stop! No, seriously! I can’t take it!” Miranda couldn’t stop giggling, no matter how hard she tried. She swatted at Josh’s hands, tickling her under the shade of a large oak tree. Finally able to break away from his grip, she ran toward the corn field, taking the time to turn her head and shout back, “Ha! You can’t catch me now!”
It was a fortunate day for her, the wind providing an ally as the corn stalks rustled, faintly covering the sound of her footsteps barging through the brush. She could hear his playful threat, calling after her: “You can only hide for so long!”
Breaking out into a fit of giggles, she collapsed, out of breath, hidden in the corn, grateful to have a fun distraction from the day. Josh heard the footsteps cease and sneaked over. Pouncing at her, he threw her over his shoulder as she emitted a surprised yelp.
He carried Miranda through the corn field back to his truck – parked on the dirt road – just a ways away from their favorite oak tree. Still laughing quietly, she began to teasingly beat on his back, crying out with indignation. “Put me down!”
“What’s in it for me?” Josh challenged.
“Huh?!”
“If I put you down, what do I get in return?”
“If you put me down… I promise I won’t kick your butt for at least an hour.”
“Hmm, that is a very tempting offer,” he began as he slowed down. “Or I could take you to my truck and have my way with you!”
That received a swift kick to his shin and an exasperated huff from Miranda. She wouldn’t tell him, but she was relishing this contact, knowing that this would almost definitely be one of the last times she had this proximity to him, doubting they would ever be together again.
Compromising, Josh plopped her down at the tree and hurried over to his truck. Miranda often teased Josh, saying the only reason she loved him was for his truck: a sexy blue Ford F-150 with just enough rust and dirt to show that it had been put to good use.
Josh started the battery of the truck, enough for the radio to come to life, and they caught the end of Nancy Lynn saying her uniform, yet peppy, “and this is the Kix 96, Savannah’s Country Leader” trailing into the Zac Brown Band’s “Chicken Fried.” Josh opened the truck’s windows and turned the volume up so they could hear it from as far away as the oak tree. Miranda, loving the new single playing, took Josh by the hand. As much as she acted the part of a tough, fun-loving country gal, she still had a terribly romantic side to her. Pulling him to her, they danced by the tree, the sun shining down on them with a slight breeze tickling their hair, Josh’s cowboy hat casting a shadow across his face. She leaned her head against his shoulder and felt the softness of his plaid, flannel shirt. Savoring the time she had left with him, she inhaled through her nose and detected a faint smell of burning wood, her favorite; Josh had been working in the shop that morning.
“Chicken Fried” came to an end and Emerson Drive’s “I Should Be Sleeping” began. Josh, still holding Miranda’s hand, twirled her once around and caught her. He pulled her up into the bed of the truck, where he kept blankets. They laid there and continued to talk, watching the sun sink lower and lower in the horizon. Their hands were clasped and Josh moved his legs so they were entwined with Miranda’s, his Tony Llama boots bumping her Durangos. He shifted his arm so it was around Miranda, her head nestled against his shoulder. Their thoughts kept drifting to tomorrow, although neither said anything about it.
They sat there for a while, enveloped by a stillness, framed by the fading sun. The sky nearly dark, Josh turner to Miranda. “Should I call Jimmy and Brad and see what they’re up to?”
“Sure!” Miranda agreed. She was going to miss them, too, and wanted to see them before the big send-off.
Pulling out his phone, Josh punched the numbers on the keypad and waited until Jimmy picked up. “Hey, what are you guys up to?”
“Not much- just hanging around,” Josh informed Jimmy. “You and Brad wanna meet up?”
“Sure! At the river? We can do some fishing, and give Miranda a proper last night in town!”
Upon hearing those words, Josh grew somber and muttered, “Yeah…”
“Ok! See you guys in fifteen.” Click.
“K, we’re going to go meet them at the riverside. Sound good?” Josh asked Miranda, carefully studying her every feature and memorizing them all.
“Great!” Miranda exclaimed as they both hopped out of the truck bed. They climbed into the cab of the truck and headed off to the river. It was a ten minute drive, and Miranda and Josh spent most of the time in silence. Miranda was taking in the sights of her home town, committing it to memory. True, she didn’t want to forget about this place – she had some amazing memories there – but she had been given an escape, and couldn’t imagine coming back. With her forehead pressed against the cool car window, she looked at the shops they were passing: cute stores that had been boarded up long ago, restaurants that hadn’t opened their doors in months, the single factory that was barely still in business. It was a fun town – everyone was nice and knew all of their neighbors – but she needed to get out, she needed something bigger, better.
“Watcha thinking?” Josh asked, interrupting her thoughts.
“Nothing,” she smiled at him.
He didn’t believe her, but he responded with “Ok,” ending the conversation. He took hold of her hand and gave it a tight squeeze.
Finally at the river bar, they climbed out of the truck, dust from the dirt road still settling around them. They walked over to their favorite rock as they waited for Jimmy and Brad, who came pulling up a few minutes later
“Hey, guys! What’ve you been up to today?”
“Oh, this and that,” Jimmy replied. “How ‘bout you two? Enjoying your last day together before Miranda leaves the state?” Brad swiftly stepped over and elbowed Jimmy in the side, muttering, “Shut up” in Jimmy’s ear. “C’mon buddy,” Brad chided Josh as he playfully punched in the shoulder. “We still have 10 hours before Miranda becomes ‘Ms. College Student!’”

“Besides, North Carolina isn’t too far away!” Jimmy was trying to help, but was silenced by a glare from Brad.
“So are we going to fish or what?” Miranda interjected. Disrupted from the awkward, failing conversation, the boys jumped to life. The four friends settled down and let their hooks, bait-less, sink a little ways into the flowing water.
As it got later, the air grew cooler, so Josh went to his truck and grabbed some blankets while Jimmy, Brad, and Miranda packed up the fishing gear. Josh tossed two of the blankets to Jimmy and Brad then wrapped the third around Miranda and himself. They sat together on the rock, staring up at the night sky.
“Not to be a sappy sentimentalist, but the stars are really pretty tonight.” Miranda sighed as they all stared up at the sky together.
There was a long pause until Josh finally said it. “This time tomorrow… You won’t be… You’ll be… in a different state. At school. With people. Just… remember us, the ones that stay around here, OK? You know I’m going to be working. I’ll save up money; I’ll buy that cute house, the one with the big porch. Just… don’t forget about me.”
She was shocked! Josh hadn’t even let on that he was worried about anything like that; she thought that he had just been going through what they were both feeling: the depression of separating. But she had thought about it. The memory of the first time he pulled his truck up her gravel driveway popped into her head. The dust of the gravel, picked up by the tires, was blowing in the wind and surrounded Josh as he stepped out of his truck. She remembered holding her breath, waiting for him to show up, knowing he was about to ask her father for permission to date her. Back then, she thought they would spend forever together, but they had reached the night before life goes on, and she could see the bigger picture. She loved Josh, she really did, but she was going on to college- she was getting a degree, moving to a big city. She was going to make a name for herself; he was going to work in the run-down factory. That was not the life she wanted.
“What?” She rolled over to face him, and, kissing him on the cheek, whispered, “I’ll never be able to forget you.” She needed to let him know that she would never forget him; she wouldn’t always love him, but she definitely would never forget him.