Palmyra: a small town smack dab in the middle of the state of Virginia, where the only thing we’re known for is being the city that Chris Daughtry graduated high school and good old fashioned apple cider. Not much to be known for in this town of only 104 people. We take small to a whole different level. Everybody knows everybody, and we all are born and buried here.

But Palmyra is more than just where I grew up, where I graduated, where I grow my fruit in my families orchards every year. It’s more than just hills, and valleys, and the sawmill. It’s not only the place where my guardian, Patricia Smithson (or Granny as we call her) raised not only me, but my older brother, Macintosh, and my little sister, Scarlet (or Red). It’s the place I met the one person who I knew my soul wanted.

James Faudet.

Tangly brown hair, see-through grey eyes, and a sense for the big city that I’ll never come to understand. James never felt at home in Palmyra, though he was born and raised here. As soon as he could, he found a way out. Loving me was just the one thing that kept him here as long as a day after our graduation.

It was something he didn’t count on ever doing…

“AJ, wait up!” James exclaims from twenty feet behind me, his royal blue graduation gown stopping him from being able to pick his feet up and run like the race horse he is.

I retrieve the graduation cap from the blonde fortress of curls on my head, halt in my tracks, and throw it up into the air. It soars into the dark grey sky of a June afternoon, and gravity pulls it back down to the earth, into my hand with its impending grasp.

By the time this has occurred, James has his thick arms around my waist and he has lifted me off the ground, defying gravity’s hands it seems. “James!” I complain. “Put me down!”

“Never!” he says in that adorable Californian accent he has from his parents.

“If you don’t put me down, we’re not going to make it to the graduation party,” I remind him.

He sets me down and turns me around quickly. “They’ll live. I wanna keep you around for a while.” He winks.

I blush and tug on his hands, rolling back onto the balls of my feet. “C’mooon,” I say in a whiney voice. “It’ll be loads of fun! Everyone’s gonna be there.”

He rolls his eyes and scoffs. “Yeah, all five of them.”

“I know you don’t like most anyone in the class, but will you do it for me? Spike will be there!” Spike is James best friend.

He sighs, giving in. “Okay, Baby. For you.”

I laugh and playfully kiss him quickly. “Thank you! Let’s get goin’!”

We rush to my old, rusty orange pick-up truck and I drive us off to the graduation party. It’s a small something my Granny, the owner of most of the land around here, put together. She does this every year and I recon this’ll be the best one yet!

I park into the unpaved driveway of my Granny’s old house. I grew up in this antique, yet homey old cottage. Granny grew up here, and my mother, and my siblings and I did as well after our parents died in a fire when I was eight years old. I don’t remember much of them. When I try to picture my mother’s face in my mind, now all I can see is Granny’s, and when I try to visualize my father’s, I see my big brother’s face.

The old place has lots of charm. It’s a three bedroom, two bathroom house with a old fashioned cabin kitchen, a wood burning fireplace in the den, and the attic is full of Lord knows what. Though the house is old, and the shutters need a new coat of paint, it’s home now and always will be. Everything is always in its proper place. Even though Granny could afford much better, she chooses not to.

We are greeted as soon as we’re through the doorway by my ten year old sister, Red. Suiting her name, her flaming red hair is up in a messy bun and she is wearing her usual yellow overalls with a cherry red shirt underneath. “Hey, Sis!” she yells and tackles me in a hug.

“Hey, Red, what’s up?” I chuckle and rub her back. “Where’s Granny?”

Red pulls back and smiles, some of her back teeth still missing. “I’m helping Granny make pies! And that’s where she is, makin’ pies!” she turns to James behind me. “Hello Jim,” she giggles at her terrible nickname for my boyfriend of three years, best friend of ten years.

James just laughs along with her and let’s her call him whatever she pleases. He loves Red like his own little sister, having known her since she was very small. “Hey Little Red Riding Hood,” he laughs, and she glares at the nickname, but quickly returns to her usual, happy self. “Does Granny need any help with anything?”

Red taps her chin. “Well, she did say somethin’ about having you get the wood for the fire. She mumbled somethin’ about not wanting to throw her back out again, whatever that means. She’s already put Spike to work.”

James chuckles, showing his vibrant smile. “I’ll get right to it, ma’am.” He pretends to bow to Red like a prince would to a princess, and she curtsies back. He kisses me and then runs out the back door to help Spike get the firewood.

I hurry behind Red as she skips towards the kitchen, which smells like heaven by the way. I see my Granny, the Smithson curl curse taking over her hair underneath her sun hat. She turns to me, and says, “Well, what took you so long? You gonna have your old Granny doin’ all the work for your graduation party?” Even though my Granny is getting up there in age, she is no less fiery of a southern belle than she was forty years ago.

“Sorry Granny!” I say and help her prepare the last of the apple pies.

Granny smiles at me and winks, her way of showing affection. “How’s that boy of yours? Still as happy as he was this mornin’?”

I nod. “We were both so excited to graduate, but truthfully, Granny, I’m just glad it’s done and over with. Now I can help you here on the Golden Acres full time!”

“You don’t wanna even consider college, younin’? she asks, looking at me out of the corner of her eye as she places the pies in the ovens.

I shake my head to tell her no. “Anything I need to know to get through my simple life, I have already learned. Twelve years of schooling is enough for me, Granny.”

Granny nods as she closes the oven. “That’s my thoughts to, my dear one, but if you ever change your mind…”

I smile sweetly at my grandmother. Always so kind and generous. “I know, Granny. Thank you, anyways.”

She waves off the compliment with her oven mitt. “Ahh, don’t go filling me with compliments. How about you go to your room and change, yes?”

I look down at the outfit I had been wearing, only to see many dirt stains covering it. I hadn’t even noticed. What can I say? Not much of a girly girl. “Oh yeah, probably should.” I start walking towards my room. “Hey, where is Mac?”

“He’s down by the elementary school, he said he had to meet someone there.”

Red comes up to me, and whispers, “Me, Belle, and Lexie set Mac and Miss Cheryl up on a blind date.” She winks.

I gasp. “You did not. How?”

“We got Belle’s big sister to write us two letters on her computer. One for Miss Cheryl and the other for Mac. They think the letters are from each other from their ‘Secret Admirer’,” Red giggles.

I roll my eyes and smile. “It’s about time he went on a date instead of working all the time. Good job, Sis.” I high five her and walk into my room.

I change out of my old clothes into new ones: blue jeans with holes in the knees, a white tank top, and an orange and white plaid long sleeved top that I leave open. I put on my signature black work boots and I braid my hair off to the side, out of my way, but the curls seem to pop out anyways.

I head back out and help Granny place all the food onto the large wooden table. “Time to eat, ya’ll!” she yells out the window to the guests. In a rush, seven people pile inside the small cottage: Spike, James, Red, her friends Belle and Lexie, Belle’s older sister Royal, and my good friend from high school, Felicia.

Spike is your typical little brother type of friend. He’s always helping everyone, and with his green Mohawk, he’s hard to miss. He has a super big crush on Royal, but she just sees him as a little brother for now, much to his disappointment. He is always so eager to please her.

Red’s friends Belle and Lexie have been with her for years, ever since they could walk pretty much. They do everything together. They like finding out what their talents are. They’re always asking for sleepovers at either my house or Royal’s apartment. Very sweet little girls, though. Belle has her sisters curls, though hers have a slight white tint to her blonde hair, and Lexie has short, auburn hair. It looks almost cherry colored in the right light.

Royale…is the exact opposite of me. She loves fashion, loves pedicures and manicures, makeup, hair, shopping, and every girly thing you could possibly imagine. She is constantly doing new things with her hair, but as of the moment, her natural hair is long, big black curls that have purple in them. She has already applied to colleges to take classes on how to become a fashion designer. More than likely, she will be moving to Manhattan to continue her dream.

And lastly, but not least, Felicia. Felicia loves animals more than people. She’s the girl who would be at the back of the classroom reading about how to care for a Tasmanian devil rather than pay attention to her studies. She owns I don’t know how many pets, but she always carries this little white bunny with her named Angel. She always dyes her hair pink, even though it’s naturally light blonde. She always wears springy colored clothing and, even though she is beautiful, she never draws attention to herself. She and I have been good friends for some time, but I can be brutally honest. With someone so shy, sometimes the brutal honest AJ needs to stay away.

Everyone gets a serving of pretty much everything on the table. Granny is famous for her cooking, and using the apples from our orchard, it makes everything better.

We all head outside and sit around the campfire that the boys had made for us. The three little girls sit together, talking and giggling amongst themselves. Royal sits next to Felicia and they engage in polite small talk as they eat. Granny sits next to Spike, and Spike is too busy ogling at the food and Royal. James is beside me, and I am between the girls and James.
I smile peacefully at what I see and take a bite out of the food Granny has prepared. Everyone is so peaceful, so happy. I wish it could be like this forever, that we could all stay this age forever, but eighteen was never meant to last. We’re all headed down different roads now. Royal to beauty school, Felicia to veterinary school, Spike to culinary arts. They’ll all be leaving soon, but I’ll be staying right here. I’m just glad James has decided to stay after all. He did have a college offer, but he decided to turn it down. I don’t know why, but secretly I am glad. I don’t want him to leave me.

We all laugh and tell stories about the past year, and even farther back. Spike jokes about the time Red got shot by a skunk and had smelled that way for weeks. Red retaliates by telling the embarrassing Spike-spies-on-Royal story…again. I recall the times that some of the three girls “talents” had gone horribly wrong, like the play where the costumes fell apart.

We continue long into the night, and we end up all falling asleep outside with our heads on the grass and out eyes towards the stars as we dream of our lives in the near future.
_

Early the next morning, before anyone else has woken and before the rooster crows, I am woken up by a very nervous James. He seems anxious and there are lines between his up drawn brows. “James?” I whisper, careful not to wake the rest of the sleeping ones. “James what’s wrong?”

He gives me a shy smile. “Take a walk with me?” he asks, and I nod yes as a reply. He helps me up and we carefully walk to the unpaved road.

I wind my arm through his. The early morning is brisk, even in the south. The stars and moon are just going to bed, a slight light coming over the eastern horizon.

After a few minutes of comfortable silence, I get the courage up to ask, “So where are we going? What did you want to talk to me about?”

“I never said I needed to talk,” he says, looking at me.

“I know that face. That’s the I-have-something-to-tell-you-but-don’t-know-how-to-say-it face.” I laugh.

He smiles. “You know me far too well. When the sun rises, I’ll tell you, okay?”

I look at the horizon. “That’s only a couple minutes, so okay.” I kiss him and hop onto his back. “Carry me!” James erupts in laughter as I say, “So this is what it’s like from way up here. Is the air different? What are you, seven feet tall?”

“Only six feet and two inches, my love.”

“Seems like seven to me,” I grumble.

“That’s because you’re five foot one inch, Babe,” he smirks.

“Ha ha ha, shut up.”

He carries me on his back as we walk through the woods on the gravel road. The sun starts coming up, so I hop off James’ back. “Alright, fess up, boy. What’s so important that you woke me up before the sun and dragged me out here?”

He stops walking and sits down on a fallen branch. “Remember when we used to play right here when we were little?” he asks out of nowhere. “We used to see who could climb the highest tree, or who could hold onto the branches the longest without falling off?”

I nod slowly, wondering where he could be going with this. “Yes…I do…”

He sighs, looking around at the woods. “I miss those days. When I didn’t have to make decisions I didn’t want to. Every day was play. Every day I could spend with you, and now that we’re older…” James pulls me close to him and gets down on one knee, “I still want to spend every day with you, AJ. Every moment of every day, and I can think of no better way,” he pulls out a ring box, “than for us to get married.”

He opens the box and there is the most beautiful ring I’ve ever seen. It’s a simple, white gold band with a six sided, Herkimer’s diamond. Beside the diamond is a single, golden leaf. It’s very elegant and unusual.

I gasp. This is so unexpected! I never had any idea he was planning this. My hands cover my mouth and I feel my eyes go wide with surprise. I never thought about marriage right after high school. I didn’t think I wanted it, so this is such a surprise.

James’ eyes are glistening, hopeful. “I-I don’t know what to say…” I stutter.

“Say yes?” he half asks, half states.

I can’t think. My mind is so blank. “Baby, why so sudden? We both agreed no marriage right after high school…what changed?”
He sits down of the forest floor and pulls me down to sit in his lap, facing him. “I changed my mind about the university offer. I accepted.”

I look at him surprised. “Which one? Atlanta or New York?”

He shakes his head. “Neither. Los Angeles.”

I gasp. “That…that’s so far away…”

“Which is why I did this,” he holds up the ring box, “now. Otherwise, I would have waited like we wanted.”

I sigh and look down at his hands and the ring. “Baby, I love you, but…”

“But what?”

“I-I’m not ready for this, for marriage. I’m not…I can’t say yes. Not yet.”

James scoots me off his lap and gets up, irritation showing all over his face. “I won’t be able to come home much. I’ll be gone for a really long time, Babe. It’s going to be really hard on you and on me.”

I sigh. “I would accept if I could, but I just can’t.”

He holds my hands in his. “Then at least come with me. Come to L.A. with me. We’ll take it slow, like we always said.”

I sigh again, saddened by where this conversation is headed. “Babe, I can’t. My home is here, in Palmyra. I’m going to be running Golden Acres now. Granny is getting older, she can’t do it alone anymore, especially without Grandpa.” I pause as his face turns grim. “I belong here. I can’t go to L.A. with you. I’m sorry…”

“Baby…” he says after a long pause. “Maybe it’s best if we…go our separate ways.”

Tears form in my eyes. “N-no—”

“I’m going to L.A., you’re going to run Golden Acres. You’ll be here tending to an orchard, a country girl you always have been, and I’ll be a city business man half way around the world. It’s going to be more hurt than happiness, Baby.” His face shows no emotion at all. He just stares through me.

“Fine then. Go to your stupid university and become a city boy. Maybe you never belonged here in the first place.” I fight back tears with my angry words.

“Don’t get bitter with me,” he says, getting in my face but not laying a hand on me. “I’m not the one who chose to stay here in this God forsaken town. Every night I’ve told you ‘I have to get out of this town. I have to leave. I hate it here. The only thing I don’t hate here is you and Spike.’ Every damn night I said this. Is it such a surprise I changed my mind? The only reason I said no in the first place was because of you, but then I thought about how miserable I’d be.” He looks at me desperately. “I can’t stay. Please, at least understand that.”

I glare at him. “I understand, alright. I understand that we here aren’t good enough for you, city boy.” He starts to say something, but I cut him off. “Just leave. Leave, and for my sake, don’t come back.” I start to leave the woods with James behind my back. “Have a nice life, city boy.”