The Academy In My Head

Fading into Fall

I mentally catalogued what he was wearing, jeans and sneakers, lightweight green sweater over a white t-shirt. Oh, I liked that look on all of them too. A view of a t-shirt or tank top peeking out through the V-neck of a sweater. I pursed my lips before going to the closet and pulling out what I needed.

Come to think of it, he hadn't outright said it but it was just a day or two into fall, I mused as I got dressed. I made excellent time, mimicking what he'd been wearing as I was now wearing skinny jeans, tucked into knee high brown boots, a tank top under a green V-neck cashmere sweater that brought out my eyes and a denim jacket. I looped a pale pink scarf around my neck and released my hair from the clip I was wearing it in, brushing it out quickly before pulling it up into a ponytail. Just a dash of lip gloss hit my lips and I shoved my phone and keys in my pockets and headed to meet Kota. "Okay, I'm ready." I announced.

"Wow." He smiled. "You look great. And ready for a day with some time outside." He reached for my hand before escorting me out the door and into his car.

We talked a bit and listened to music as he drove and I found myself paying close attention, curious and wondering where we were headed but as much as I tried to sneak a question in, he'd divert to a different topic. Or point out how the leaves were changing colors.

"C'mon Kota..." I was practically whining as I begged for clues. "Where are we going?"

He laughed as the car slowed and I belatedly realized he was pulling off the road and heading down a dirt road. "There's a sign you know..."

My eyes widened and I turned, staring in rapt attention at the sign at the side of the road we were on. "A corn maze?" I turned to look at him.

"And a pumpkin patch and an apple orchard and plenty of tree lined walkways." He said.

"Oh Kota. That sounds amazing."

"I wanted to take a moment to welcome Fall with you. With a few of the things my mom used to take us kids to do. I also thought, even though it's early, we could get a few pumpkins and let Gabriel carve them as a preview of what we'll end up doing on Halloween." He pulled up next to a truck in the parking area and came around to open my door.

I popped out and hugged him before he could even shut my door. "I love it. We used to go on a field trip in elementary school in Illinois to the pumpkin patch. I've missed stuff like this." I said, waiting for him to shut the door before we started walking the rest of the way up to the area set aside for the fall activities.

He chuckled and took my hand, lacing his fingers through mine. "I'm glad you're thrilled." He squeezed my hand before pausing to pay for two admissions to the corn maze. "Time to let those directional skills take over, Sweetie." He said as he grabbed the activity sheet to fill out as we made our way through the maze.

It was so much fun, being lost in a maze with Kota. I'll admit that we probably ducked into more than our share of dead ends and kissed for a while before picking up the trail again as we jotted the answers to the questions down on the activity sheet. About an hour later, I got us completely out of the maze.

Good thing it wasn't actually a timed activity.

We turned in our activity sheet at the booth because there was a drawing for entries that had all the correct answers on it. I was a bit excited to hear that one of the prizes was a large bushel of apples and other produce that they grew here on the farm. I know at least one of my boys would be thrilled if I had a lot of apples that needed to be dealt with. "What now?" I asked, looking up at Kota as he took my hand again.

"Apple cider and pumpkin doughnuts before we go pick some apples and find some pumpkins?" He suggested, subtly steering me towards the nearby tent.

Oh. My. Goodness.

The scent of the baking doughnuts was filling the air around the tent and it made my mouth water as we entered. I took in a deep breath once we'd entered. The air inside the tent was redolent with the scent of Fall. Apples and spiced cider, pumpkin and ginger. I closed my eyes and simply breathed it all in before smiling. "I love this." I murmured to Kota before I leaned in and kissed his cheek. "Thank you for thinking of this."

He grinned at me and towed me over to the table where we could get something to drink and a few doughnuts. "You're very welcome. We'll make the rest of them happy and pick up some treats to take home. North's got a weakness for pumpkin pie that rivals Sean's for apple pie." He said in a conspiratorial tone. "But you didn't hear it from me."

I laughed and let go of his hand as it was necessary for me to have a drink in my left hand and doughnuts in my right hand as we wandered the tent after he paid, nibbling our food and sipping our drinks as I made mental notes of what we'd want to take home. Pies, of course but there were some other sweets that I knew Luke would love as well.

Once we'd finished, we headed out on a walk, enjoying the quiet as we held hands and wandered out to the pumpkin patch and the nearby apple orchard. It was amazing. It was one of those crisp days that made me glad I'd put the vest on over my sweater and doubly glad for the scarf I'd put on since my nose was getting cold. The leaves were making crunching noises under our feet as we walked and I told him a story about raking leaves with Marie when we were growing up and a few of the leaf pile and jumping contests we'd had.

We paused in the apple orchard and picked a bag of apples to buy and take home before we headed to the pumpkin patch. He made fun of my choice of a small, round pumpkin but I rolled my eyes at him and dared him to try and pick up the one he'd selected on his own.

He couldn't budge it though. The pumpkin was hugely round and sat where it had been growing. It was a lot like watching the Avengers try to lift Thor's hammer off the coffee table in Age of Ultron.

I got to laugh at his attempts though. He pouted and I kissed the pout away before pointing out a more reasonably sized pumpkin that he'd have no trouble picking up and taking home. They offered hay rides back to the main part of the farm by the maze and I couldn't help but think it was the perfect ending to a fall date with one of my boys. I waited for him to pay for the apples and pumpkins, helping him stow everything in the trunk of the car before we returned to the tent for another drink and to buy the pies and other sweets and treats that I'd found on the first visit to the tent.

And of course, a ginger molasses cookie that was just a mere millimeter smaller than my hand. And a Pumpkin spiced latte with ginger cream on top.

I was in a blissful state at the first sip.

Kota made a face when I made him try it and stuck with the apple cider as we left. "You can keep that one." He said with a chuckle.

"Oh, trust me, I will." I teased back. "I really can't thank you enough for such a great day." I said as we buckled up in the car and he backed up carefully, ready to head back towards home and the rest of our family.

"I'm glad you liked it." He said, glancing at me. "I had a great time as well."

"Maybe we'll have to keep this as a Sang and Kota Fall tradition." I suggested.

His face lit up as his smile spread to fill his entire face. "I really like that idea." He said. "I know we're having dinner with the rest of them..."

"Yes?"

"But I was hoping you'd want to come over to my place after dinner. Mom's working and Jessica's at a sleepover so it would just be you and me and maybe a fire in the fireplace." His eyes held his hope that I'd say yes.

"Will you make me hot cocoa?"

"With marshmallows." He agreed.

"Then I'm in. I'd love to close out our fall adventure with a snuggle by a fire with you." I said softly.

(fade...)