Ch. 3

Alone with wine and strawberries.

"Juniper Lynn" was written on the side of her cup in bold black sharpie. Hearing the barista pronounce it slowly as he handed her the drink was a symphony.

"Juniper Lynn," I declared to her as we sat down cross legged beneath a willow tree by the nearby pond. I savored every syllable. It was bright, and crisp, and I saw her smile as I said it.

"Adeline Winters," she cooed in response. I shivered at the sound of my own name as it rolled off her flowery tongue.

The setting sun shone faintly through the long branches and wispy leaves, casting striped patterns onto her cream colored leg. She had pulled up her ankle length skirt to a reasonable mid thigh, as it was outrageously hot. The smell of my own perfume masked the odor of the sweat lingering on my arms and neck, but Juniper smelled organic, to say the least. It wasn't at all unpleasant, it was almost like the thick backwoods at dawn.

I took a sip of my caramel macchiato as I skillfully retrieved a small brown paper bag from within my larger canvas bag with my toes. Juniper looked on, intrigued, delighted, and perhaps a bit confused.

Balancing the drink on the uneven ground, I produced two small sandwiches, a carton of strawberries, and a bottle of wine. I shook out the bag, and two forks and two dixie cups came tumbling out.

"Stop drinking that," I jokingly commanded, gently prying her iced coffee from her soft hands and placing it next to mine. "You'll like this much better."

She leaned back onto her hands and smiled benignly as I uncorked the bottle and began to pour into each of the two dixie cups.

"Classy," she commented, but willingly took a sip of hers. She licked a drop off the side of her lips. "What's it called?"

"Take a look," I suggested, offering her the bottle. "I can hardly pronounce it." She took it in one hand, then raised a blonde eyebrow. I laughed, and handed her a sandwich.

"Why the doubles? Were you expecting someone?"

"A friend," I sighed, a fragment of a laugh escaping from between my lips. "Jasper Edmund Allen."

"He canceled on you?" She took an elegant sip from her paper cup.

"He was detained," I explained with a grin. "For letting a pair of wild rabbits loose into the tiger enclosure at the zoo."

Juniper snickered behind her hands, and took a dainty bite of her sandwich.

"Some friends."

"Indeed," I replied, taking a bite of a strawberry, then a sip of wine. "They go well together. Like nectar and ambrosia." I held a piece of the fruit out for her, and instead of taking it from my hands, she wrapped her two hands around mine and raised it to her face. Red flesh curled around ivory teeth as she took an indulgent bite.

She grabbed one from the carton, and held it up to my mouth. I grabbed it tentatively with my teeth, and she chuckled at me.

We spent the evening alone in the company of wine and strawberries, the setting sun a celestial halo crowning her seraphic face.