Four Years In

Four Years In

Jeremy said he had a big surprise for me. After four years I was so ready. All my friends were getting married, or already married. I had started seriously rethinking our relationship.

He wanted to camp out on the mountain. I assumed to make it a big romantic thing under the stars. I was so excited! We’d gone hiking many times, he said it helped him relax, but we’d never stayed overnight before.

Unpacking he’d brought a nice cozy tent, plus cooking equipment and food. I didn’t see any champagne, but I figured it would be hidden with the diamond ring. I hoped he picked out a good one! I couldn’t wait to flash it around to all my friends.

When everything was set up, just as the sun had set and the stars were starting to twinkle, he brought out the surprise. It was a book. A book, on cooking, at a campout.

He thought I’d be so excited to be able to cook for us while we were camping out, and he was relaxing...

Well, I did cook for him. One of the recipes for the food he’d brought had optional mushrooms. He hadn’t brought any, but they grow everywhere in the woods. I knew that from a class I took once. I also knew you had to be very careful with wild mushrooms, some can be deadly.

And I knew exactly which ones were.