Luke remained silent but held me close. His eyes were wide but he had a blank stare on his face. There was even footage of Michael using little Luke, who couldn’t have been more than a few months old, to ask Jenny to marry him.
Then came the moment I was hoping I’d be able to see the wedding. They were right here in this sunflower field. Jenny looked absolutely stunning, dressed in a silk white dress, with a lace veil. Michael was in a black suit, his hair slicked back, but that one curl still planted on his forehead. The whole ceremony was on film. Luke’s grandpa must’ve been filming it because his grandma was standing next to his parents holding him.
Luke’s eyes were starting to well up now. There was footage of them kissing Luke who didn’t look more than six months old. They smashed cake in each other’s face. Danced in the field to no music whatsoever and then drove off in a firebird. Then it cut off completely.
I leaned my head on Luke’s chest. “It’s just so weird.” His voice cracked. “Like the only way, I know them is from these videos and they’re our age. Like they were kids.” He attempted to pull himself together. “I’m sorry Sutton, this is supposed to be a happy week for you I just- I”
“You don’t have to apologize Luke; this was my favorite thing we’ve done so far and we’ve done some pretty awesome things. I’m so glad you’re open to sharing these things with me.”
We laid in the darkness for the rest of the night just staring at the stars and I woke up the next morning still in the truck. I checked my phone and found lots of text messages from my mom. I quickly shot her a text apologizing and letting her know I’d be home soon.
I stretched and turned my body towards Luke. He stirred a little bit and then his eyes started fluttering. “Hey, beautiful good morning.” He said in his hoarse sleepy voice. I kissed him gently on the lips.
“I can’t believe I leave tomorrow.” The knot in my stomach was back and I had a feeling it wasn’t going anywhere.
Luke ran his fingertips and down my arm. “I know Sutton. It came too quickly but I told you we’re going to be okay.” I looked into his eyes and half-smiled. “So I don’t have a lot of plans for us today. I just want to spend the day by your side that’s all I know. I figured you could pick today’s activities.”
“Well this isn’t much fun but I have lots of packing to do.” Luke grabbed my hand and kissed it.
“Sutton even packing is a great time in your company.” I smiled and kissed his lips.
Luke and I spent the day goofing off in my bedroom packing my stuff. When I had completely finished we headed into Gia’s room to help her pack.
“Luke, are you going to come home with us?” Gia asked him with a twinkle in her eyes. Luke put his hand on Gia’s shoulder.
“Not right now G. I have lots of things to take care of here. What would Poppy do without me? What about the pizza shop?” Gia hugged him and my heart fluttered.
“3:30. What do you want to do now?” Luke asked.
“How about you let me take you on a little adventure. It won’t be anything crazy.” Luke smiled.
“Okay but we need to swing by the pizza shop by 6:30.”
“Deal” I replied.
“Are you sure your uncle wouldn’t kill me if he knew I was driving this truck?” I asked Luke as we puttered down the road to our first destination.
“Sutton, I don’t really care what he thinks; thank God he’s not driving it anyways.” Luke gulped out loud.
“Okay, stop one!” I said happily.
“My house?” Luke asked.
“Run in and get Poppy and her leash.” I said with a smile.
“If you say so!” He said jumping out of the truck.
As Luke walked towards the house I quickly made a phone call to the home where his grandma lives.
“Glend Oaks Nursing Facility this is Maria, how may I assist you today?” The woman on the other line sang.
“Hi Maria, I was just wondering if you allow pets to visit the folks who live at your facility?”
“Oh yes! We are a big fan of support dogs here at Glend Oaks! As long as your dog is up to date with all vaccinations and you sign a form you can bring them in anytime!”
“Perfect! Thank you so much, Maria! You’ll have a furry friend visiting in the next few minutes.” I said nicely before hanging up my phone.
As soon as I hung up Luke and Poppy came barreling out of the house. I laughed as Poppy pulled him towards me. They hopped in the truck. Poppy licked me all over.
“So where are we off to?” Luke asked.
“You’ll see!” I said with a cheesy smile.
“Are we at my grandma’s home?” Luke questioned. “What-what about Poppy?” He said, confused.
“Poppy gets to visit too!” I said with a smile.
“Oh my gosh Sutton, really? How did you throw this together so fast? My grandma will be so happy.” Luke shot me that cheesy grin.
We walked into the home with Poppy and she was an immediate celebrity. The woman behind the counter looked exactly how I pictured her after hearing her voice. She was plump and wore bright blush on her cheeks. Her hair was curly and sat perfectly on her shoulders. Her eyes lit up when we walked in with Poppy.
There was a common room
