A Perfect Fall Memory

Submitted into Contest #63 in response to: Write about two characters going apple picking.... view prompt

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Romance

The leaves finally changed colors, yellow, orange, red, brown. The air felt cool and crisp. This season is my favorite time of the year. The weather is perfect and it’s the best time to go out and do autumn things. For instance I get to take my beautiful girl to an orchard, I know it's her favorite thing to do because she talks about it all year long. It’s my favorite thing to do with her in the fall because I love the look on her face when we get there and it takes her fifteen minutes just to pick out the perfect pumpkin for us to carve. She claims that's her favorite fall activity to do, she once told me that it reminds her of her childhood, as her and her sisters would have a pumpkin carving contest, and she has never won one.

When I pick her up she’s wearing a fall festive outfit, red sweater and jeans. She looks absolutely beautiful and young wearing a hat and scarf. As she gets in the car her cheeks already have a tint of red from the wind chill outside, which only makes her more beautiful. 

The drive to the orchard wasn’t too long right outside of town. Before we got there we were on a long, narrow road and she made me stop to take a picture of this one tree that had the perfect color orange, representing fall. 

As soon as we get out of the car we are welcomed with hot apple cider, my girl brings the cup to her mouth and gently blows on it to cool it down. I take in little things like these because the little things are the most important. 

After we finished our cider we grabbed a basket and headed to the tall trees lined in rows, hundreds of rows. This was something we’ve never done before, apple picking. She said we had to because it’s fall, and we can make our own apple cider. Being in the kitchen and making cider with her only brings a smile to face, it’s always the quirky little things that make life with her all the better.

Each apple she picked her smile grew bigger, informing me that each apple was the best one. She gasped at the next apple she saw demanding she needs that one, she starts to reach on her tippy toes, but her height is there. The wind picked up and her blonde hair swayed in the most perfect way. The light on her makes her even more perfect. 

I grab her waist moving her behind me and I grab the apple easily, she giggles from her struggle and she reaches for the apple out of my hand. Before she has the chance, my hand moves to her cold, red cheek and my mouth touches hers. Her lips are warm and gentle. I feel her smile in our kiss. This is the reason I love fall, it brings out the best memories for us. As we part lips she lands back on her heels and grabs the happy. She throws it in the basket, comes close to my face and kisses me on the cheek, sweet and simple, the best kind.

Then, she walks past me continuing to pick more apples.

After another hour of apple picking, we buy the apples and put them in the car, so we can go inside the market to buy some things. As I watch my girl walk around the market placing fall snacks including kettle corn, cookies shaped as pumpkins, and candy corn, I spot out the most perfect bracelet with charms on it, including a leaf, pumpkin, and ghost. My girl loves her jewelry. I quickly grab it to buy before she sees me, before meeting back with her I place the bracelet in my pocket. I grabbed her waist and kissed her cheek, spooking her, she playfully smacked me and told me she jumped from my surprise. 

After the basket was filled with snacks and she picked out a pumpkin we bought everything to put in the car. We always save the best adventure for last. The corn maze. It wasn’t a big one, almost childlike, really easy to get out of. We head to the start of it and begin walking. After a few lefts, rights, and laughter from the mouth because we ended up going the wrong way, we found a bench to sit on and take in this memory. She sits close to me as I wrap my arm around her to bring her closer to me then she already is. No one else is in the maze, just us.

She stands and places herself on my lap, and tells me how much fun she had and that she loves, as I tell her the same I pull out the bracelet I had bought a few a bit ago, she gasps. I slid in on her small wrist and she rocks her wrist back and forth making them jingle. I can tell by the sparkle in her eyes that she loves it. She smiles and kisses me. 

This was the most perfect fall day we could've had. We finished the corn maze, excited to get back to her house to carve the pumpkin. 

When we arrived we didn’t do as good on the pumpkin as she thought we would, she pouted a little but I told her that it was perfect. 

We made the apple cider with our apples we picked from the orchard. She said it tasted too sweet, which she was right, I don’t think a dash of sugar meant a cup, but I didn’t tell her because I don’t think I could look at her beautiful pout again. 

At the end of the day, we sat on the porch swing in the cold air, I saw my girl shiver and covered her with a blanket, we ate pumpkin cookies and drank sweet apple cider, this was the most perfect fall memory I'll never forget.

October 15, 2020 03:53

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