took off running down the pathway.
“Come on, local. I need a guide!” He yelled over his shoulder.
I jogged after him with a smile on my face. Very quickly my body
started aching. Why did I decide to go around again?
“Brilliant. It is beautiful here,” Adam commented.
“If you like this, you’d love the Dells.” I wiped a few beads of
sweat from my forehead.
“What’s it like in the Dells? You keep telling me how great it
is.”
“The Dells is the name for a seven-mile series of sandstone rock
cliffs that line the Wisconsin River. I can’t even explain how gorgeous they
are. You should come back with me some weekend and I’ll show you around town.”
What did I just say? Was I inviting this guy I barely knew back
home? I had never taken a boy home to my parents’ house before, besides my high
school boyfriend. I was about to take it back, but Adam already accepted.
“That’d be, as you Americans say, awesome!” He was smiling at me,
excitement in his eyes, when it hit me again.
“Ow! My head!” I was struck with blinding pain, and didn’t see the
tree root sticking out of the dirt. I tripped and rolled onto the ground, laid
out flat. Suddenly I saw a vision of a very handsome man kissing me in a very
small room that looked somewhat like a bedroom. He was caressing my lower back
and slowly dancing with me. It was so real I thought I might actually be in the
room with that man—until I heard Adam’s voice.
“Ava…Ava, dear. Take a deep breath.” I could barely hear him. I
pushed his voice out of my head—I wanted to keep the vision in front of my
brain. My heart was aching for whoever was in that room with me.
“Ava. You’re far away.”
The man in my vision was incredibly handsome and his beautiful blue
eyes were mesmerizing.
“Ava…come back to me. Open your eyes.” Adam’s voice sounded miles
away.
But then my vision became hazy, like someone slowly turned down
the color.
No! No…no…
Adam had crouched down next to me, gently coaxing me to sit up,
eyes right at my level. He kept very calm, speaking to me as he placed his hand
on my upper arm, rubbing slowly.
“Ava…. You’re safe. You’re here in the park with Adam.” He
continued to comfort me. “Come back to me, Ava.”
I shook my head a little as the vision faded away. My breathing
was heavy and fast. I looked up at Adam’s brown eyes with hurt and concern on
my face. But he did not freak out. He did not overreact. He was perfect. He
said nothing, but grabbed my hand to pull me into a sitting position. A tiny smile
of disbelief slid onto the corners of my mouth and I let out a sigh.
“Welcome back, Ava. I thought I had lost you there for a second.”
He took my hand in his and it felt wonderful, like a tiny blanket of hope
wrapped around me.
“Adam, why are you being so nice to me?”
“We have an old saying in England: ‘You can’t judge a book by its
cover.’”
I snorted. “We have that saying, too.
A look of surprise took hold of his face. “Blimey, you do?”
“Yes! Of course! But what does that have to do with me?”
“I see what’s inside you, Ava. I can tell you are a good person,
and a strange outburst here and an odd headache there won’t turn me away from
being your friend.”
Adam felt somewhat like a father figure to me, and even though I
just met him, he was proving himself to be a good friend and I was thankful I
had him in my life.
He stood up from the ground and extended his hand to help me up.
“I think you’ve had enough strenuous exercise for one day. What do you say we
take a pleasant stroll through the rest of the park?”
“That sounds great.”
How did he do that? He turned me from a crazy mess to calm and
comfortable. Was Adam a great guy or just good at deceiving innocent girls like
me? Either way, he somehow made me feel secure and safe next to him.
We approached the summer swimming area and I explained how the
Plover River brought tons of people to
“Come on, local. I need a guide!” He yelled over his shoulder.
I jogged after him with a smile on my face. Very quickly my body
started aching. Why did I decide to go around again?
“Brilliant. It is beautiful here,” Adam commented.
“If you like this, you’d love the Dells.” I wiped a few beads of
sweat from my forehead.
“What’s it like in the Dells? You keep telling me how great it
is.”
“The Dells is the name for a seven-mile series of sandstone rock
cliffs that line the Wisconsin River. I can’t even explain how gorgeous they
are. You should come back with me some weekend and I’ll show you around town.”
What did I just say? Was I inviting this guy I barely knew back
home? I had never taken a boy home to my parents’ house before, besides my high
school boyfriend. I was about to take it back, but Adam already accepted.
“That’d be, as you Americans say, awesome!” He was smiling at me,
excitement in his eyes, when it hit me again.
“Ow! My head!” I was struck with blinding pain, and didn’t see the
tree root sticking out of the dirt. I tripped and rolled onto the ground, laid
out flat. Suddenly I saw a vision of a very handsome man kissing me in a very
small room that looked somewhat like a bedroom. He was caressing my lower back
and slowly dancing with me. It was so real I thought I might actually be in the
room with that man—until I heard Adam’s voice.
“Ava…Ava, dear. Take a deep breath.” I could barely hear him. I
pushed his voice out of my head—I wanted to keep the vision in front of my
brain. My heart was aching for whoever was in that room with me.
“Ava. You’re far away.”
The man in my vision was incredibly handsome and his beautiful blue
eyes were mesmerizing.
“Ava…come back to me. Open your eyes.” Adam’s voice sounded miles
away.
But then my vision became hazy, like someone slowly turned down
the color.
No! No…no…
Adam had crouched down next to me, gently coaxing me to sit up,
eyes right at my level. He kept very calm, speaking to me as he placed his hand
on my upper arm, rubbing slowly.
“Ava…. You’re safe. You’re here in the park with Adam.” He
continued to comfort me. “Come back to me, Ava.”
I shook my head a little as the vision faded away. My breathing
was heavy and fast. I looked up at Adam’s brown eyes with hurt and concern on
my face. But he did not freak out. He did not overreact. He was perfect. He
said nothing, but grabbed my hand to pull me into a sitting position. A tiny smile
of disbelief slid onto the corners of my mouth and I let out a sigh.
“Welcome back, Ava. I thought I had lost you there for a second.”
He took my hand in his and it felt wonderful, like a tiny blanket of hope
wrapped around me.
“Adam, why are you being so nice to me?”
“We have an old saying in England: ‘You can’t judge a book by its
cover.’”
I snorted. “We have that saying, too.
A look of surprise took hold of his face. “Blimey, you do?”
“Yes! Of course! But what does that have to do with me?”
“I see what’s inside you, Ava. I can tell you are a good person,
and a strange outburst here and an odd headache there won’t turn me away from
being your friend.”
Adam felt somewhat like a father figure to me, and even though I
just met him, he was proving himself to be a good friend and I was thankful I
had him in my life.
He stood up from the ground and extended his hand to help me up.
“I think you’ve had enough strenuous exercise for one day. What do you say we
take a pleasant stroll through the rest of the park?”
“That sounds great.”
How did he do that? He turned me from a crazy mess to calm and
comfortable. Was Adam a great guy or just good at deceiving innocent girls like
me? Either way, he somehow made me feel secure and safe next to him.
We approached the summer swimming area and I explained how the
Plover River brought tons of people to
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