Together

The train began to decelerate shortly before noon, drawing up alongside a tiny, weathered flag-stop named Willowbrook. There were no station buildings, only a stone platform nestled beside a trout stream and two saddled horses waiting patiently beneath the trees.

"You remembered I missed riding," Eleanor said, stepping down onto the grass.

"You mentioned it three months ago," Ernest replied, checking the cinch on her mare.

"You remember every single detail, don't you?"

"Only the parameters that matter," he said, offering her a stirrup.

They rode up through a dense canopy of ancient beech and oak, the path winding gently along the shoulder of a high ridge. When they finally broke through the tree line onto the crest of the hill, the entire river valley opened before them in a sweeping, breathtaking panorama.