Body, Mind, and Soul

"C'mon sleepyhead, rise and shine, it's adventure day." Paul alternated tapping and gently shaking Gayle's shoulder to wake her.

A languid response met his urging and she managed to lunge her feet from bed onto the hardwood plank floor. A groan emanated from her lips as they dropped with a resounding thud. To Gayle, her feet felt as though they were encased in twenty pounds of cement.

Paul bent at the waist, kissing her smooth cheek, and then skipped from the room, proud of what was in store for their day.

"Four-thirty?" Gayle shrieked, shaking her head in disbelief at the bright red numerals on the nightstand. "I don't see how this little adventure," she remarked sarcastically, "is going to be good for my mind, body and soul if it requires me being up at this hour."

Ready, but unsure how willing, Gayle emerged from the cabin twenty minutes later; snug fitting denim Capri's outlined her hips and thighs while a golden-yellow fitted frock top accentuated her upper curves. Bright white Keds added a bit of spring to her step and the swish of her ponytail gave the forty-something woman the appearance of a teenager-or at least maybe an early thirties woman, she hoped.

Paul stood gaping, jaw unhinged, at the sight of his wife-to-be. She was more stunning than the sunrise over the lake through the far trees. His breath caught in his throat as he stuttered and stammered for the right words. Finding none befitting her, he opted for a broad, toothy smile and another lingering soft kiss upon her cheek.

In Gayle's mind, foregoing this planned surprise would be just fine with her-if it meant a quiet, playful day of staying locked away inside the cabin. Nevertheless, to her dismay, the romance soon subsided as Paul hoisted the large army duffle, stuffed to the brim with who knew what, up and over his shoulder.

"Ready?"

"Ready!" she smiled, swallowing the lump growing in her throat.

An hour's walk later, with her feet scolding her for agreeing to this excursion, Paul halted and squatted down slowly, pulling her along with him. "Shhhh," his finger pressed to his chiseled lips as his other hand swept before her, guiding her line of vision to a clearing beyond the woods. "See him?" he whispered.

Gayle nodded as her eyes grew wide watching the graceful beauty of the buck grazing on the tall vegetation of the meadow. It was a stunning sight-one she would not soon forget. Being from the city, she had only seen pictures of wildlife such as this. Her apprehension and uncertainty about this adventurous surprise was vanishing. Paul had succeeded. Her eyes followed along as each of the spindly front legs of the animal made slow, effortless steps. This was undoubtedly therapeutic, especially for her mind, body and soul.

Captivated by the movements of the buck and the entrance of what appeared to be his own doe lady friend, Gayle didn't notice Paul shift and move away from her side. She was in awe-her mind scrambling in silence to take this piece of nature in and frame it within her memory forever.

When the doe approached, the buck raised his antler-laden head and the tips of their noses touched, as though sharing a hello kiss. The corners of Gayle's mouth curled into a broad smile-

-until the blast of the .22-rifle echoed and bounced among the pines surrounding her.

The buck jerked his head, turning enormous black globes of peacefulness toward where Gayle sprang to her feet. Loosing her footing, she toppled over into the vivid green grass blanketing her viewpoint as the buck's mate bolted to the tree line at the opposite side, running in panic.

"Beautiful shot huh?" Paul's face beamed as he lowered the rifle from his shoulder.

Gayle was too stunned to respond. Every ounce of beauty and grace she had been enjoying moments before now lay in what was surely a bleeding, possibly suffering lump upon the ground.

Without a word, she picked her steps with care as though dodging puddles from a recent rain in a parking lot, and approached Paul standing in all his glory. Her eyes searched his face for some semblance of remorse or regret-but found nothing but what seemed to be pride.

The silence of the woods was once again broken-this time by the sharp and stinging sound of her hand whacking his jaw. Gayle then dropped her engagement ring at his feet and hiked back to the cabin to pack.

"Indeed, this weekend was good for my mind, body and soul."