Elise Gilmore
I take a sip from my water bottle as I look out over the vast lake in front of me. “What am I supposed to do now?” I say to the sparkling, shifting surface.
“Stop running away from me.”
I close my water bottle and turn around. Benji is standing ten feet away, looking just as good in his suit as he had at my college graduation ceremony a few hours ago. My resolve to beat him to the punch and break up with him first—a decision I’d come to on the hike here—dissolves.
“What makes you think I’m running away from you, or anyone for that matter? Can’t a girl take a hike in Glacier National Park on her own every once in a while?”
He chuckles and moves a step closer to me. “Of course she can. Especially you. You’re more than qualified. Though I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t define that”—he motions toward the level bike path I followed to the shores of Lake MacDonald—“as a hike.”
He’s right. This wasn’t a hike.
Cautiously, he takes another step toward me. “Tess, why did you decide to come out here in the middle of your graduation party?”
“I needed the fresh air,” I say in my most confident voice, hands on my hips.
“Your parents were worried about you.” His eyes scan over me, and my heart flip-flops. “I was worried about you.”
“Why would you be worried about me? You’re moving on.” A tear slides down my face as I speak the truth I’ve been running away from out loud.
A look of bewilderment fills his eyes. “What do you mean?”
I sigh. Apparently, I’m going to have to spell it out for him. “I heard you talking to Dylan in the kitchen.”
He continues to look at me with a confused expression. How could he not recall the conversation I’ve been playing on repeat since I overheard it?
“He asked how things were going with us. You paused for a long time before admitting that you wanted to move on and get serious.” I take a deep breath, trying to squelch the sadness I feel bubbling up inside. I force myself to meet his gaze. “I thought we were serious.”
He stands there, seemingly stunned.
I turn away, looking over the glittering lake again. What a beautiful backdrop for a breakup.
After a few more moments of silence, I shake my head and say, more to myself than to Benji, “I guess I was wrong about us.” I swipe a few more tears off my face. “I thought you were the one,” I whisper.
“Tess.”
I spin around, ready to get this over with so I can go home and bury my sadness in a pint of cookie dough ice cream. Instead, my hands fly to my mouth.
Benji is down on one knee, holding out a ring.
I blink, momentarily entranced by the light green, hexagon-shaped stone. There are darker lines of green rippling through it, giving the illusion of fluidity. Two diamonds shimmer on opposite sides of the stone. Beside each pair, a small, elongated opal points toward the band. The ring reminds me of moss and moonlight and crystal water. I love it.
“Benji…I’m confused.” My head spins, trying to reconcile what I heard earlier with the image in front of me. “What’s going on?”
He smiles softly at me as he stands. “When I told Dylan I wanted to move on and get serious, I meant this.” He nods toward the ring. “I’m not moving on without you. Hopefully, I’ll be moving on with you.” He reaches out his free hand and grabs mine. “Tess, I’ve known you were the one since that first hike.”
I grin at the memory. “I still can’t believe we walked for two straight hours without realizing we’d left the entire class behind.”
“Did I ever tell you Dr. McKinley let me have it later?”
I shake my head. “You never told me that.”
“As his teaching assistant, I shouldn’t have ditched the group.” He shrugs his shoulders. “But I could only focus on you that day.”
I feel my cheeks heat. “That first glimpse of the Rocky Mountains and Lake MacDonald at the top of Apgar Lookout. It was breathtaking.”
“Yes.” He looks at me sheepishly. “You were…and are. I wanted to ask you out so badly that day. ”
“I know.” The sparks had been palpable then, just as they are now, making the last two months of that class torture. “At least you made up for lost time.”
“Sometimes I still can’t believe you said yes when I showed up the day grades were posted.”
I smile. We’d gone out on our first date that night and been inseparable ever since.
He squeezes my hand. “After the party tonight, I was going to ask you to hike to that same lookout tower tomorrow morning…to propose. But I’ve waited long enough already, so what do you say, Tess?”
He drops back down on one knee. “Will you go on a new adventure with me?”
Tears well up in my eyes, thankfully for a different reason this time, as I nod my head. “I’m always up for an adventure, especially one with you, Benji. I couldn’t imagine marrying anyone else.”
He slides the ring on my finger and stands up, pulling me close to him. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.” I give him a quick kiss, then look up at him.
His eyes dip to my lips before pinning me in place with a heated gaze. “Tess…” he whispers before pulling me in for a kiss that takes my breath away.
As we walk back along the path later, hands entwined, I peek over my shoulder, catching a final glimpse of the lake. It was the perfect backdrop for the start of a new adventure—one I feel confident will be the best yet.
In addition to flash fiction and short stories, she is currently working on her first novel inspired by the summers she spent working at a camp on a barrier island off the Carolina coast.
She lives in South Carolina with her husband of almost fifteen years and their two boys. When she isn’t writing, you might find her homeschooling her kiddos, reading a good book, drinking tea or kombucha, obsessing about Pride and Prejudice, playing worship songs on the piano, or dancing around the house.
Connect with her on Substack, Instagram, and Goodreads. Sign up for her newsletter on Substack.
Spark Flash Fiction 