I couldn’t believe it myself. I was on a date with the most beautiful woman I knew: Ruth Gabriela Umper. We had been best friends at Preschool, friends at seventh grade, and now boyfriend-girlfriend in our Junior High School year. I couldn’t believe she was my friend in general, normally girls like her were stars with guys like One Direction, Justin Beiber, or Daniel Radcliffe not Truman McCloudre. I mean, the universe doesn’t work this way.

It doesn’t go to you and say: 'Guess what!? There’s going to be a girl in your school who’s going to look like a celebrity and go on a date with you right after she broke up with her boyfriend!?

Plus, Ruth isn’t an ordinary girl. She’s a girl who takes what she can get at any time possible. Who starts mopping toward British performers about lost friends so she can get an opportunity to date one of them? That sounds like taking an opportunity to an advantage to me!

“Truman, come on!” Ruth cried. “You’re NOT getting to any bases with me by staring at me! Get out of the car!”

She pulled me out of the car and we made our way to a good picnic sight. I scrambled to my feet and we looked around to find one. A little way off, the State-fall waterfall was shining in the light and to its sides, people were swimming in its perfect pretty pools. To the pool’s left side there was a big open area, on the right there was a middle sized area, and if you looked up the waterfall; there was a smaller piece of land. That piece would be perfect, besides sides to the right and left are noisy and viewless. The top one would be peace and quiet, perfect to make my move on Ruth.

"How about up there?” I asked the others. They nodded in agreement.

“There.” Kristy pointed. “A path to get up, it may be a climb, but maybe if Truman held Ruth’s high-heels, we might just be able to make it.”

“Why do I have to hold them?” I complained.

“Because honey-boo-boo,” Ruth said, pushing her high-heels into my chest. “If you don’t, you may not be the guy I’m looking for. Or at least the one who’ll find me. Are we clear!?”

“Crystal.” I said taking the shoes and proceeded to make the climb.

The path was slippery and slimy, but doable. Every step, every jump was petrifying, I could imagine myself slipping and falling, down, down into the deep. I would feel the piercings of the rocks as they slice into my skin making my yells of help and saving become yells of pain and agony. The others would cry out and as a result of the panic, slip also and like me, be seriously injured and possibly dead.

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Truman, concentrate!

You’re going to be okay, nobody’s going to get hurt. It’s all going to be worth it when I get to that piece of land besides; it’s only one jump ahead. One jump ahead! The most romantic dinner of my life just ahead of this rock!

One, two, three, jump!

I fly through the air and land on the parchment of grass. Looking at it now, I realize it was as perfect as I dreamed it to be: the grass is not too wet, but not too dry. The space would fit me, Ruth, Hope, Felix, and Kristy. They landed next to me holding the dinner-basket with that expression of victory on their faces.

“Yes!” Felix said. “Here at last.”

“Look!” Hope points out. “Look at the view!”

The view was priceless. I could see everything. To the right, I could see the city with its lights and streets. There was a traffic jam on highway 80. To the left of me I could see the lake; the waterfall had been made so long ago. Its glassy waters and shining beauty has the sun reflected off of it making it more and more beautiful.

“Maybe that’s where Narcissus drowned himself.” Kristy said.

But the best view of all was the view in front, you could see the parking lot and in front of that you could see the city with the green lush mountains behind it and the breathtaking sun resting on its surface making you forget everything in the world.

It was the world’s way of saying, “Hey, I’m pretty too. Plus, I’m hot and cool!” If the world were any more beautiful, now would be the time.

“You’re not getting to first base here you blubbering’ idiot!” Ruth called out to me. “Now, help me!”

Oh my goodness, I forgot about Ruth!

“I’m going to jump now!" She said, "Catch me okay?”

I got close to the edge and spread out my arms, “I’m ready honey! One, two, three, go!”

She didn’t jump.

“What’s the matter, Ruth?” Kristy asked. “Can you make the jump?”

“Oh, heck no.”

“You can do it!” Hope cried. “Make a dash for it!”

“I can’t,” Ruth cried. “I just can’t.”

“Ruth, look at me," Felix yelled. “Remember all those crazy things you’ve done in the past like making out with a kidnapper to escape a building?”

She nodded.

“Then you can make this jump. Do it for us!”

She still didn’t jump.

“If you won’t do it for us,” Truman cried. “Do it for the success of One Direction!”

“For Harry!” she screamed and ran.

Something was going to go wrong. I could feel it; I could see her face, her expression. I calculated her speed, determining the normal jumping power she had in her leg and the distance between the rock and us only to get one result: she wasn’t going to make that jump. I could feel my heart stop.

No.

She can’t.

I could hear a voice inside my head: a musical voice; the same voice of Hope’s mom, the one we heard in the car on the way home from San Francisco. The voice that had saved Hope’s and Felix’s lives and the voice that had turned into a snow colored dog to save us in Switzerland. In the corner of my eye, I could see that dog looking at me dead in the eye.

“Jump,” said the voice.

Ha, another life threatening experience right in front of me! I backed up and jumped.