Chapter 24: Alex’s Day

It was one of those rare Fridays that Laura had off from the orchestra and the prep school. She had mentioned it to Alex in one of their morning phone conversations. He asked her if he could take her on a special date and she agreed.

“Laura, I’m so glad you agreed to spend your free day with me.”

“Alex, it is a real pleasure. I had so much fun with you at the planetarium and museum that I could hardly wait to see what you had planned for this date.”

“Ah. Patience is a virtue,” he said with a smile, placing his index finger over her lips.

He drove them outside of the city to what looked like acres and acres of rolling green hills. Was it a farm? Or a golf course?

“My curiosity is killing me, why are we here?”

“Rest assured that this is phase one of our date,” he told Laura.

They parked on a grassy area and then walked for about 15 minutes. Then it was clear why they were there.

“A hot air balloon ride?” Laura could hardly contain her excitement. “Really, Alex?”