Love In The Wild West

“I love you too,” said Louise. “Now come on, I am starving and I have booked us a table for the entire day. We are going to eat all of your favorite things.”

“Alright,” said Lila, getting out of bed and heading into the bathroom. She showered comfortably and then put some clothes on and exited the bathroom. She and Louise headed down to the restaurant and enjoyed a big brunch. After the brunch they went to the sports courts and played tennis for a while, enjoying the physical activity. Once they were tired from that they went up to their room and watched a movie, after which it was finally time for their lunch with Kurt.

Lila was extremely nervous. She did not want to end up saying the wrong thing. She did not want Kurt to end up thinking that she was doubting the relationship that they could have, because she really was not. No, she was only being careful because she did not want either herself nor Kurt to get hurt. She wanted them to be happy, but if what she was feeling was the result of the situation rather than something real, she would end up causing Kurt a great amount of grief and this was something that she simply would not be able to bear.

She also did not want him to get the idea that she was very interested in the relationship, even though this was true. She wanted the relationship, but if this became evident to Kurt he might not be able to resist the urge to pressure her just a little, even if he did not realize that this was what he was doing.

Lila headed down with Louise and they saw that Kurt was already at the restaurant waiting for them.

“Hey,” said Lila, unable to stop herself from smiling widely when she saw him. She hugged him and then sat down.

“Happy birthday,” said Kurt. “I got you a little something. You can open it later, you do not have to open it now.”

“Is it okay if I do?” asked Lila.

“Yes of course,” said Kurt, “whenever you want to.”

Lila looked at the little present. It was covered in beautiful matte silver packaging. It was not ostentatious or garish like most present wrappers were. Rather, it was the sort of packaging that actually looked nice for a change. Lila was almost hesitant to take the wrapping off because it was so beautiful.

However, she knew that inside was something that Kurt had gotten her. Kurt, the man that she was slowly starting feel very deeply for indeed. She carefully opened up the wrapping, not wanting to tear it, and then looked at what was inside. She was surprised by what she saw.

It looked like a necklace made of tiny bones.

“What is this?” asked Lila, holding the little necklace up. “It looks so cool.”

“It’s not exactly a pretty necklace,” said Kurt, “it’s something that the Native Americans use in their rituals. It is a bone necklace, made from the knuckle bones of fallen warriors. This one is a genuine necklace, made from real knuckle bones. It was actually used by a shaman until he died and his children sold it. It has not been used by anyone else except the shaman. You are going to be the first person that will touch this necklace since the original owner.”

Lila was absolutely taken aback. This was an incredible gift.

“Thank you so much,” she said, her voice hushed and awestruck. “I can not believe that you would get me something like this. I… I do not know what to say…”

“Do you really like it?” asked Kurt.

“I love it!” said Lila.

“I am so glad that you do,” said Kurt. “I was worried that you might be freaked out by it. It is real human bones, after all, even though it was taken from people that were already dead.”

“I think that just makes it so much cooler,” said Lila. “I can not wait to put it on. What is it supposed to do?”

“Well,” said Kurt, “the main purpose of the necklace is to protect the wearer. You would be able to go anywhere in the world and the protection of the spirits of the warriors that these knuckle bones belonged to will be yours. I… I just felt like this would be the right thing to give you, you know. You are a very outgoing sort of girl and I am sure that you would need the protection of spirits to keep you safe.”

“That is so sweet…” said Lila. She went up to Kurt and hugged him again. They enjoyed a lovely lunch together after which it was time for Kurt to go and handle some business. His eyes lingered on Lila for a while but he did not say anything. Lila was very glad that this was the case.

She and Louise lounged about by the pool for a while before taking a swim after they had spent enough time digesting that they would not end up getting cramps. After their swim they went for a tour of the surrounding area with a guide and enjoyed seeing the sights. By the time they got back it was time for the horse riding lessons.

There were fifty people already waiting for the lessons when they got there. The lessons had turned out to be a real hit, and Lila was glad that she and Kurt had started this. She wanted him to succeed even more. This place was his dream, and she wanted to help him build the dream up.

After the first lesson was over, Kurt walked up to Lila. “Hey,” he said with his magical grin.

 “Hi,” said Lila. “That was a good lesson wasn’t it?”

“It was,” said Kurt. “I think that the people here are really enjoying themselves. We have given them something new to do, something that they can not get anywhere else. I am so glad that we are doing this. However, I did not come here to talk to you about the lesson. I… I wanted to talk to you about something else.”

Lila felt her heart jump up into her throat. This was it. Kurt was going to talk to her about them now, and she was not at all ready for the conversation. She needed more time to think about things. She needed to know what was going on with her head, whether she was truly feeling what she was feeling.

“You have started riding horses really well-“ said Kurt, but he was then cut off by someone rushing up to him. Lila was confused. If Kurt had been about to talk to her about their relationship why had he started off by talking about her riding skills? Had he been about to give her some kind of metaphor? Her questions were not going to be answered any time soon, however, because the man that had come to talk to Kurt had something really important to say.

“Sir,” said the bellboy, “someone is here to see you.”

“Well I am teaching the class right now,” said Kurt. “Tell them to come see me later. They really should call before coming here.”

“I would tell them that, sir,” said the bell boy. “Except…”

“Except what?” asked Kurt. “Go on, tell me.”

“Because, sir, the person that is here to see you can not be sent way,” said the bell boy.

“Why?” asked Kurt. “Who could it possibly be that you cannot simply send away?”

“It’s Mr. Wycombe, sir,” said the bell boy. “Mr. Donovan Wycombe.”