"What a perfect weekend this has been." Mattie gazed at the blazing fire and took a bite of the chicken as they sat in the beach chairs in front of the camper. She looked up at Clay as he poured more coffee into her blue-speckled cup on the small folding table, and set the pot back beside the firepit. "And, baked chicken? Hmm..m, I'm very cozy right now."
"Do you want me to put up the lights?"
"No, I like it dark with just the fire, actually."
They sat together, enjoying their meal, as she thought about that afternoon, and their tour of Fallingwater. After eating their lunch, they'd headed back to Ariel Lake, the half-way point, and picked up a hot take-out meal before returning to their camper.
"Brr..r." Mattie shivered as she held the hot coffee cup in both hands. "On second thought, it is getting colder."
"Hold on, I'll be right back." Clay went into the camper and emerged with her rust afghan, wrapping it around her shoulders. "How's that?"
She peered up at him. "That's wonderful. Thank you." He sat back in his chair and continued his meal.
"I have something to ask you." Clay wiped his mouth with the paper napkin and took a swig of his coffee.
"What is it?"
"Would you come with me to an anti-war demonstration in D. C?"
That surprised her and she looked over, squinting her eyes in puzzlement at him in the fire's glow, not sure how to answer. She wasn't sure she wanted to be reminded of the war on this perfect day.
"Come with me, Mattie." Clay's voice was insistent. "Let me take you to what will be one of the largest peaceful protests since they began. They're calling it the Moratorium March, and there'll be great speakers there...George McGovern and Corretta Scott King, as well as Pete Seeger and other prominent anti-war activists."
"I don't know, Clay." She turned to glance at him.
"Your school won't know." He looked into her eyes. "How could they possibly find out? It's on a Saturday. You'll be back by that night or Sunday at the latest."
"Perhaps." She squinted her eyes at him. "Let me think about it." She wasn't sure about the logistics of it. They would have to park miles away from the site, and she wasn't sure how she'd walk that far, or even stand for hours on end. It would be ten times their walking and standing time today, at the least. She'd have to figure that one out.
"That's a good enough answer for now. It's two weeks from today...November fifteenth." Clay glanced at her. "We could take the camper. I know a campsite close by, in Maryland. And then, from what I've heard, there'll be parking lots designated as pick-up points where we can board a bus to the D.C. Mall. When we leave afterwards, we ride the bus back, then drive the Jeep back to the campsite."
"That doesn't sound too bad. I suppose I could go with you." Well, why not. They could work something out.
"The entire country is galvanizing against the war now." He gazed at her seriously. "With so many important people there, I'm sure the protest will be peaceful, if you're worried about that aspect. I wouldn't let anything happen to you. We can leave if it looks like something is brewing." He leaned forward and narrowed his dark eyes at her. "You can trust me, you know."
She searched his warm eyes. Yes, she knew for certain that she could. "All right, then. I'll go with you."
"I'm glad, Mattie." He seemed genuinely pleased. "I want you to see what a well-organized demonstration is like." He chewed a bite of chicken. "Life's too short to remain silent, eh?"
"I have to figure out the logistics of it all, Clay," she voiced her concerns. "I did all right today with all the walking, but that sounds like an awful lot more, and then, standing for hours. I do have to consider that part of it, as much as I hate to admit it."
"Hmm...are you amenable to a wheelchair? I could push you part of the way. That's not a problem."
She sighed. She hadn't used a wheelchair since her surgery twelve years before, and wasn't sure if she wanted to at this point.
"I can handle the wheelchair on my own, but I've always tried to avoid using one, actually." She sipped her coffee, and pulled the afghan down further over her shoulder. "I want to walk as much as possible. I just have to make sure I don't overdo it and damage my leg."
"I understand." Clay set his plate on the table and sipped his coffee. "Maybe I can borrow a portable chair from the vet's hospital near Brooksford, and it will just travel with us for that weekend in case you decide you want to use it."
"All right, that's fine with me." She smiled at him in the flickering light. "I can alternate walking and riding."
After discussing their options for a few minutes more, they decided that it was getting too cold to stay outside, and Mattie picked up their plates as he put out the fire, and packed up the outdoor furniture for their trip home the next morning.