LOVE AND A TRACTOR.

She watched Simone’s muscles flex as the big metal beast turned toward the setting sun. His hair, which had previously been tied back, had fallen down his neck and, as it was hit by the sun, turned the most beautiful hazel she had ever seen. She did not mind having to walk beside the tractor. There was a better view from down there. Simone looked down from the tractor, ‘Don’t you want to come up?’ Simone waved his hand as if to prove to her the beauty of the sunset, ‘The view is better from up here.’ His smile was so kind and she had loved them since they were children, ‘I can’t climb onto a moving tractor.’ He gave out a loud laugh, ‘I’ve known you much too long to believe that.’ ‘Oh, really?’ He was still smiling that smile that he knew she could not resist. In his softest voice he said, ‘Really.’ As he spoke, he jumped down from the moving tractor and grabbed her hand. Simone’s hands were rough from farm work, but his grip was soft. He spoke quietly and with a serious tone that had not been there before, ‘You can do anything.’ And with that, he kissed her briefly on the lips. Not even long enough to guess at what it meant. She stood there silently for a second, but once she regained consciousness, she ran as fast as she could and called out his name, ‘Simone!’  He turned around and, before he could react, she kissed him. His arms caressed her body and face. For a moment she was without any worries in the world, and then she remembered the tractor. As if reading her mind, Simone whispered into her ear, ‘There isn’t much fuel left. Don’t worry.’ She looked into Simone’s dark, green eyes and was in love.