“Babe, listen. Yes, we want to have kids, but we’re both only twenty-three. We’ve got plenty of time. As for money, we’ll figure it out. Maybe I can take a loan out of my 401k to help, and you’re not being selfish. Wanting to improve your career before we start a family is about as far away from selfish as you can get.” She kissed his lips and touched her forehead to his, smiling.
“You’re such a goober.”
They sat in content silence for a while longer. The sun had sunk low, casting the mountain’s shadow for miles below them. To the southeast tiny specks of neon light sparked to life, some beginning to dance around each other like pastel fireflies.
“Oh, look!” Patrick said, pointing to the lights. “A carnival!”
“I read that there was one coming around. I think it’s in Swinton.” Samantha smiled. “Wanna go?”
“Most definitely!” Patrick stood, offering her a hand up. “Let’s roll, Starsky!”
Samantha stretched as she stood and took one more look around. Her smile faded a bit as she looked towards the west.
“What’s up?” he asked.
“I think we stayed up here too long, babe. It’s going to get dark before we get to the bottom.” She picked up her pack, slinging it around her shoulders and clipping it in the front.
“We’ll be okay. We’ve hiked up here before, and I’ve got my map just in case.” he smiled and winked at her. “No problem.”
“Yeah, that’s true.” She playfully slapped his butt. “Let’s do it, Hutch.”
• • •
Starting their descent the couple laughed, joked and reminisced about old commercials from the 80’s as they tried to remember as many jingles and out-of-production products as they could. That then turned into a game in which each of them would sing the theme song from an old sitcom, while the other tried to guess the show.
“Okay, try this one.” Samantha said after wrongly guessing the theme song from Perfect Strangers. She took in a breath to start singing, but Patrick suddenly let out a yelp as he stumbled and fell, rolling several feet down the incline and landing up against a tree. Samantha froze in place for a heartbeat, shocked by the sudden outcry and motion. Coming quickly to her senses she hurried to Patrick, who wasn’t moving.
“Baby, are you okay!?” she kneeled next to him. “Patrick?”
“My leg–” he took a sharp breath in.
“Okay baby, lie still.” She took out her phone and flicked on the flashlight, scanning the light over his legs.
Both legs were covered in scratches and cuts, some fairly deep, and blood was running down to stain his socks a deep crimson. His left knee was deformed and swelling, and Samantha clenched her teeth and tried her best to ignore the churning in her stomach. She had never understood how Patrick could be so calm around blood and injuries. She usually fainted at the sight of a simple cut, let alone the carnage that was on full display now. She fought waves of dizziness as she got the first aid kit out of his backpack.
“Your legs are pretty cut up,” she said. “And your knee is all messed up too. Like, really bad.”
“It’s dislocated.” Patrick said wincing.
“I’m calling 911.” Her voice wavered, trying to remain composed.
“No, I can–” His words were cut short by the sharp glance she gave him. “Okay.” He said softly. “Okay.”
Samantha dialed the phone and hit the send button. A ball of ice formed in her stomach as the words ‘NO SERVICE’ flashed across the screen.
“There’s no signal.” she said and then cleared her throat. “I can’t call out.”
“I can hobble down.” Patrick said. “We’ll find a big stick that I can use as a crutch, and I’ll hobble down. It will be fine.”
“How?” She countered. “It’s almost completely dark out.”
“We don’t really have much of a choice here, babe. It’s too dangerous to go alone in the dark. What happens if you fall? Then we’re both down in seperate places, and we’d be pretty easy pickings for a hungry mountain lion wandering by.”
Samantha hung her head. “Yeah, alright, point taken. Let’s at least try to clean up the cuts on your legs so you’re not dripping all over the mountain.”
“Mmm.” Patrick wrinkled his nose. “Patrick drippings.”
“Gross.” she said pulling out the antiseptic wipes and gauze, unable to stop herself from smiling.
“See?” He put his hand on her arm. “It’s not that bad. Just like Nana always says: ‘If you can laugh, all is not lost.’”
Samantha leaned forward and kissed him gently. “Let’s get you patched up.”
She worked as quickly as she could, wiping dirt, leaves and pine needles out of cuts and cleaning the wounds with the wipes. She then wrapped his legs from the knee down with gauze, while Patrick held the light for her. She found an Ace bandage and wrapped his knee as tight as she could.
“Well, I’m no nurse, but it’ll have to do.” She said, standing up.
“You did great, baby.” he said. “Now see if you can find a real big stick that I can use to cosplay Gandalf while we climb down Mount Doom.”
“You’re such a nerd.” she laughed and wrinkled her nose. “Stay here, I’ll be right back.”
“Hilarious.” Patrick said, mocking a deadpan expression.
A few moments later she returned with a sizable branch that forked at the end. With a considerable amount of effort, plus some grunting and more than one expletive, Patrick was back on his feet. The branch was a little long, but since they were on a fairly sharp decline that worked to his advantage. He was able to stand on his own, but he would need Samantha’s help to steady himself as they made their way down.
“We’re going to have to leave one pack behind.” She said. “I can’t carry both and help you at the same time.” Opening both packs she started to consolidate as much as
