I awoke on the couch surprisingly well-rested. Amber and I were in northern Arkansas visiting her uncle. We had flown in the day before and arrived at his house in the early afternoon. There, I met her uncle, Mike, for the first time and later we had dinner with her parents. The day went well and in the evening we retired to his basement, which was made up as a guest suite.
Now, as I sat up, I realized Amber's couch was empty. Checking the bathroom, it appeared that she had already gone upstairs to visit with her uncle. I quickly got ready in the bathroom then changed into a pair of jeans and a sweater before going up to join them.
When I opened the door at the top of the stairs, I was met by the wonderful smell of coffee and cooking meat. In the kitchen, I found Amber, dressed similar to me, drinking a cup of coffee while Mike finished cooking up some eggs and sausages. Turning and seeing me he exclaimed, "There he is! Is he always this lazy in the morning?"
I was momentarily embarrassed until he started laughing and Amber said, "No, he's usually the one up before me making breakfast." Mike looked back at me and winked as he turned off the stove and got ready to serve breakfast. We moved to the next room and sat around his table. Taking a bite of the sausage, it was the easily the best I had ever had. I asked Mike if this was also from his deer. He smiled proudly and said, "Sure is! Seriously, are you interested in hunting? I'd be happy to have you up next fall."
I nodded emphatically and said, "Absolutely. I've always wanted to go but I've just never had the opportunity. Where do you go to hunt?"
Mike shrugged modestly and said, "I own quite a bit of land around here. There's plenty of places for us to hunt." Then with a sudden look of realization he said, "Oh, I forgot; I've got something for you."
Mike reached into his pocket and leaned across the table, handing me a check folded in half. Without opening it I asked, "What's this for?" He just nodded towards my hand, encouraging me to open it.
Looking at the value, I realized it was for about the same amount that I had paid to reserve the cabin. When he saw the recognition on my face he started laughing and said, "How'd you think I knew about that cabin to recommend it? It's mine. I keep it as a rental property for people on vacation. I let some company handle the booking and they clean it really well, but I'm not taking your money. If you like it, that place is yours whenever you want to come visit."
With a deeply appreciative smile I thanked Mike for his generosity. He just winked at Amber and said, "The two of you go enjoy it. Oh and before you ask: no, there's no cameras in the cabin either." I just shook my head as Mike laughed heartily at his teasing of Amber, referring back to her question of him the first time we visited his ranch.
After breakfast, I helped clean the table and then Mike asked if there was anything specific we wanted to do. Amber shook her head and said, "No, we just wanted to come spend some time with you."
Mike again suggested that perhaps we could ride around with him. He wanted to show us some of the area to give us ideas of things to do later in the week. Then he suggested heading into town, "It's not much; but, there's a good cafe where we can get lunch before heading back."
Amber and I both agreed that that sounded fun. We grabbed our coats and when Mike was ready, we headed out. I sat in the back seat of his truck while Amber rode up front and that's how we spent the morning. As we rode around, Mike showed us different trail heads and told us what could be seen along each hike. Then he drove to an overlook, where it seemed we could see for tens of miles across the gently rounded mountains. Amber and I stood and admired the countryside, then turned to Mike and thanked him for bringing us up there. I could tell that Mike took pride in showing us around where he called home and took pleasure in seeing us enjoying it too.
After driving around all morning, Mike suggested we head back into town. The ride wasn't long and soon we arrived at a small, quaint little town. There were a couple blocks of old brick storefronts with a variety of shops; the street was wide and had angled parking down each side. We found a spot in front of the cafe and, after parking, climbed out of the truck and went inside. There, I had one of the best, hearty lunches I've ever had, a country fried steak with mashed potatoes and green beans.
Throughout the morning and lunch, the conversation between the three of us never stopped. Of course we talked a lot about Amber and me; but we also just talked about how Mike was doing, what he does to keep busy and his plans for the coming years. It became clear that he made his wealth through real estate and land management and now lived off the gains from his investments. He still kept a few properties, but almost as a hobby. I was impressed by his modesty and generosity. He truly was one of the nicest people I'd ever met.
At the end of lunch, despite our protests, he of course insisted on paying. Then, with that taken care of, we gathered our things and headed back to the truck. Before unlocking the doors, Mike looked across at Amber and me standing together. He smiled and said, "Guys, I really appreciate you coming to visit. I've really missed you, Amber and I'm so very happy for you both."
Before either of us could respond, he had unlocked the doors and climbed into the driver seat. We followed him into the truck and made the short drive back to his house. As we pulled into the driveway, Mike spoke up, "So guys, really, I want you to know how much I appreciate you coming up to see me. And I'm not running you off, you're welcome to stay as long as you want. But I also know that those couches aren't the most comfortable things to sleep on and I know you're looking forward to some time alone just the two of you."
As we got out of the car, I could see Amber slightly blush and Mike laughed. He then continued, "How about when we get back in the house, y'all get your stuff and head on over to the cabin. Really, I brought you all up here for a vacation. You've made me as happy as you possibly could've just by spending last night and this morning with me. Go enjoy your trip."
Amber ran up and gave her uncle a big hug, thanking him for everything. We then went inside, packed up our things and carried them up the stairs and stacked them by the front door. Mike then handed us a few pieces of paper. One was a local road map; he warned us that GPS could be spotty in some of the valleys. Another was a map of the various trails he had shown us. Finally, he handed us a sheet of paper with the door code and a list of phone numbers if we were to need anything. After a series of hugs, handshakes and a few tears from Amber, we said goodbye to Mike.
On our way to the car, I hung behind and Mike put his arm around me as Amber loaded her bags into the car. With a smile and still gripping my shoulder he said, "It was really great to meet you. Amber did an excellent job with you. Now you take care of my Amber and I'll take care of you."
With another one of his winks, he slapped me on the shoulder and we shook hands and said goodbye. Amber and I waved as we pulled out of the driveway. Standing on his porch, Mike waved back. Pulling out onto the road, I turned to Amber and said, "You were right; he's the best."
With a bittersweet smile she replied, "He really is."
We drove in silence for a few minutes as Amber got over the sadness of saying goodbye. But as we wound deeper into the woods, following the narrow roads up and over, around and down into breathtaking streamlined valleys, Amber smiled and then looked at me excitedly. I smiled back at her and she gripped my hand tightly. I finally came to a driveway that lead off the main road. Following it, we went deeper into the trees and up a couple switchbacks before we came to a concrete parking pad next to a beautiful two story wooden cabin set among the trees on a ridge. As we stepped out of the car and looked around, I heard Amber say to herself, "Wow, this place is amazing."
It really was. Even in the winter, with all the trees bare, the woods were thick enough that from the cabin atop the ridge, no other cabins or other structures could be seen. We were alone, completely isolated, just as we had wanted. Amber looked at me with excitement in her eyes and said, "Come on, let's go check it out!"
We grabbed our bags and carried them to the front porch. As I unlocked and opened the door, we placed the bags just inside and looked around. It was beautiful; in fact it felt a lot like Mike's house. The front door opened into a large living area with dark brown leather couches and chairs arranged around a fireplace with a TV mounted over it. The entire back wall was floor to ceiling windows with a door that lead out onto a deck with a grill and a bench swing. Finally, there was a relatively large kitchen with a window over the sink.
On the way over, Amber had gotten a text from her uncle saying that he had taken the liberty of having the cabin stocked for us so that we wouldn't have to go into town on a shopping trip right away. Opening the refrigerator, it was indeed stocked. Not only were all the staples present but looking in the door, I also saw two bottles of sparkling wine. Amber looked in the cupboards and there were plenty of dry goods too.
Amber texted him back to thank him for so thoroughly making sure we were taken care of. He texted back, "Don't mention it. Whatever y'all don't use I'll just bring down to my house anyways." I could hear him laughing as I read the text.
Closing the refrigerator door, we made our way up the wide, wooden stairs to the second floor. Reaching the top, we found a large open bedroom. To the right was a king-sized bed flanked by end tables. To the left was a sitting area with more couches and chairs on a large rug facing another TV. On the other side of the room was the door to the bathroom. Looking inside Amber just groaned, "Oh fuck yeah."
