To be known is to be loved

Frank drove up the I-90, the road humming beneath his tires. Mel watched the pine trees pass by her window in dense blurs of green and brown as Tyler Childers played softly on the radio, filling the small cabin of Frank’s truck. 

“I was planning on going up to the Adirondacks,” he had said the month prior when Mel asked him what his plans were for their upcoming week off, “to Buck Pond, specifically. It’s this campground I went to when I visited my aunts in upstate New York. I haven’t been since I was like, fourteen, and I’ve been really excited, but honestly,” he shook his head in an attempt to shake away his ego, “I’m kind of nervous to go by myself. There’s absolutely zero cell service out there. Just you, the trees, and the bears.”

“Oh,” Mel smiled at his willingness to always be honest with her.

Frank shook his head again, his eyes glued where his hands were laced on top of the desk they were leaned against, “I know,” he sighed, “thirty-four year old man, scared to go camping by himself. The Blair Witch Project ruined me, alright? Go ahead, I know you want to poke fun. I can take it.”

“No,” she assured him, shaking her head at his self criticism, something she’d been trying to help him unlearn since he came back from rehab, “It’s endearing, actually.”

He looked up at her finally, “Really?” he questioned, always surprised by her ability to twist everything he did into something positive.

“Yeah,” she paused, thinking over the decision she’d quickly made in her head, “ya know, um, I’ve never actually been camping,” she admitted quietly, her shoulders pulling up towards her ears, “I’d love to be your camping buddy. If you want, of course, no promises I’d be any help with the bears, but Becca says I make the best s’mores and—”

“Thank you, Mel,” Frank cut her off, his arms wrapping around her shoulders in a grateful embrace, Mel’s hands settling against his back after a moment, “I would love that.”

So there they were, surrounded by what Mel thought was an excessive amount of camping supplies, and each other’s company. They filled the long drive with conversations about anything and everything they could think of. 

Frank gave her a rundown of all the things he was excited to show her, smiling brightly as he listed off all the places he’d spent hours hiding away from his brothers. His hands waved through the air as he described the serenity of the pond, and the lake with the ropeswing that was only a few miles away from where they’d be staying.

Mel told Frank about how her dad had always talked about a family trip to Thousand Trails in Williamsburg, but he died before they could ever find the time to actually go.

Frank admitted that he’d always wanted to take Tanner and Penny on a camping trip, but Abby always shut down the possibility by reason of humidity and bugs, so they’d always end up “glamping” instead.

Which actually just meant booking an extravagant lakehouse on airbnb.

He said it as if it was no big deal, but Mel could tell it bothered him—never being able to share the things he enjoyed as a kid with his own children, because if Abby didn’t want to do something it meant nobody else could either—but he’d never say that out loud. 

Even after all this time he never had a negative thing to say about his ex-wife, but that was just because he kept those thoughts to himself—or his therapist.