Free Love & Light by Michele Shriver

FIFTEEN
    ~Landon~
    T he week passes in a blur in anticipation of my first ‘real’ date with Kori. All week, she’s asked me what we’re doing, and I’ve had to play coy with her. Maybe I’m being silly and I should have just jumped at the chance to see a movie or go to dinner, but Kori is different and that calls for a different kind of date.
    Ever since my mom died and I realized how short and fragile life can be, I’ve tried to live by the motto ‘go big or go home.’ I want to live life to the fullest and make every single minute count. And now I want to show Kori how to embrace life the same way. The best way I know how to do that is to remind her of the beauty of the world, and that’s why I want to take her to the most beautiful place I’ve ever been.
    I’ve spent the whole week planning it, then have a last minute freak out the night before that has me calling home for advice. Not from my dad, though. I want to talk to a woman to find out if my idea sounds completely off base, and I’m glad Liz is around. I give her a quick run-down about how Kori finally agreed to go out with me—leaving out the whole Amanda mess—and that I want to make it special.
    “So what do you have in mind?” Liz asks.
    “A hike and a picnic,” I say. “The weather’s supposed to be great tomorrow, and I know Kori likes being outside.” I’ve got a major case of spring fever myself.
    “Hmm. That sounds nice,” Liz says. “There are supposed to be some good trails around Plymouth.”
    There are, and I’ve already hiked a few of them. For this, though, I have something bigger in mind. “They’re okay, but not what I had in mind. I’m taking Kori to Mount Monadnock.” It’s got thirty-five miles of hiking trails, and on a clear day, from the summit of the mountain, you can see as far as a hundred miles away.
    Liz whistles. “Wow, Landon. You don’t do things half way, that’s for sure.”
    “No,” I say. “There’s no point.”
    “What do you need my help with, then? It sounds like you have it all figured out.”
    “Maybe, except for lunch.” This will be an all-day thing, especially if we hike all the way to the summit, and I want to be prepared. “We could always go to one of the restaurants down there, but that may be better for dinner. I think a picnic might be nice for lunch. And romantic.”
    “That sounds lovely,” Liz says.
    “So if my dad was planning a romantic picnic for you, what would you like?” I ask.
    “Me? Crab salad, fresh fruit, especially grapes, and a good bottle of Chardonnay,” she says, laughing. “Which is probably no help to you.”
    “No, not really, seeing how I’m too young to buy wine and operating on a college-student budget,” I say. “Any other suggestions?”
    “Yes,” she says. “Pick up some nice deli sandwiches from that place by campus, and something non-alcoholic that you like to drink, and pack something to keep them cold. Oh, and Landon?”
    “Yes, Mom?”
    “Stop stressing and have a good time. The company matters a lot more than the food.”
    ~Kori~
    I have to hand it to Landon. He sure knows how to keep a girl in suspense. All week, I’ve been trying to get him to tell me what we’re doing or where we’ll be going, and he always just says “You’ll see.” That’s fine, in a way. I’m not opposed to surprises. I would like to have some idea how to dress, though, so I call him the night before to see if I can fish for some information.
    “You have the whole day free, right?” he asks.
    “Yes.”
    “Good. I’ll pick you up about eight.”
    That causes me to do a slight double take. “In the morning?”
    “Yep. We have to drive a little ways to get where we’re going,” Landon says, “and I want to make sure we have plenty of time to do everything.”
    I bite my lip and roll my eyes. Can he be any more vague? Still, he promised something unique that I would never expect, and it’s hard not to get excited about that. It makes me