When we finish talking, Max and I leave and we head home.
“Oh my God, can you believe it?” I say in the car, still on cloud nine from the happiness coursing through me.
“Of course. It was bound to happen.” He places his hand on my thigh, and I cover it with my hand. “Tonight, we’ll go out to celebrate.”
“Where are we going?” I ask.
“Actually, when we get home, I want you to change into something comfortable, because we’re going somewhere before we go out to dinner.”
“Where?” I ask excitedly.
“I’m not telling, but I’ll give you fifteen minutes.”
We pull up in the garage and I’m out the door before Max even pulls the hand-brake up. I’m pressing the elevator button, I’m in and the doors close as I see Max running to make it. I hear him yell, “Okay then I’ll wait here.”
I go put jeans, a t-shirt, and sneakers on, then go back down to the garage where Max’s very attractive, tall, broad body is leaning against his car. Suddenly I see him for so much more than he’s ever been to me before. He’s always been statuesque, a perfect marble carving of a Roman or Greek God. But right now, I’m completely floored by his casual, incredibly sexy appearance.
“Are you ready?” his silky voice asks.
“I am,” I respond. What I don’t say is I’m ready for so much more than just this outing he’s taking me on. I’m ready for him. “Where are we going?” I ask, suddenly completely aware of the beautiful man sitting beside me. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve always felt attraction toward him, but now I’m ready to take it to the next level. And I have no idea how to tell him.
“Somewhere you said you’ve never been.”
“Huh, care to give me another hint?”
“Nope,” he says and then starts to whistle.
About twenty minutes into our trip, Max pulls up outside a small, barn-like house. There’s a scratchy old sign hanging up outside which reads ‘Strawberry Museum.’ Of course, I can’t help but laugh. “A museum,” I say as I get out of the car and close the door. He remembered what I said in New York.
“I want to take you to the Louvre, but seeing as that’s over five thousand miles away and you’d need to get on a plane, I brought you to the world-famous Strawberry Museum,” he happily says as he points to the sign like one of those game-show girls. “Come on, let’s go see all things strawberry.”
We walk in, hand in hand and we look around the tiny museum. By tiny, I mean it’s an old house which has been converted into a museum. The back of the house leads out to an open courtyard which has tall trees and flowers and planter boxes filled with strawberry plants. There’s a small café attached which makes all things strawberry-related.
“Have you ever smelled anything as sweet as this?” I ask as the common fragrance of strawberries assaults us the moment we’re outside. “It smells like they’re making strawberry jam.” The smell of sugar cooking with the strawberries is undeniably one of the most fragrant aromas I’ve ever sensed.
“How about we share a strawberry sundae?” Max is already heading over to the café to get it before I even say anything.
We’re the only ones here and so I pick the best seat, the one with ribbons of sunlight touching my skin, but also the one closest to the planters of strawberries.
“The girl will bring it over when it’s ready.” He sits opposite me and looks around. “I did some research on museums, and this one was one of the most obscure ones I could find. It was either this or the toothbrush museum.”
“There’s a toothbrush museum?” I scrunch my nose at it, thinking of what could be on display there. Used toothbrushes?
“Yep, but when I saw they have strawberry sundaes, it brought me back to when Dad would take me out for ice cream after I came to live with him. It was a way for him to get me to talk. And I wanted to share with you how it felt for me as a kid to do something with someone who loved me.”
I lower my eyes and feel the tears starting. But these are happy tears. I feel so alive, and finally, after twenty-seven years, I’m finally starting to understand myself. “I love you, Max.” I look up to find him staring at me. “It’s taken me a while to allow myself to feel it, and realize I’m worthy to be loved. But I know I love you with everything I am. I’ve never known love before. I thought I did at one time, but I now understand that was a coping tool. You’ve been by my side and asked nothing of me, yet given me so much of yourself.”