Just a boy and a girl in a little canoe
With the moon shining all around...

“I can’t believe we are doing this.”

Kyle shot Tess an amused look.  “We’re not doing anything wrong.  We’re just...*borrowing* a canoe for a little while.”

Tess had the sides of the canoe in a death grip and was glancing overboard uneasily.  “Are you sure there is nothing down there?”

“Yes, Tess.  I am absolutely positive there is nothing nasty down there that will get you,”  Kyle humored his girlfriend.

And the truth was, there wasn’t anything down there.  Not even fish, by his experience.  Which had been the cause of frustration for him and his dad on many Saturdays in the past.

But tonight he was here to have a romantic dinner with his girlfriend by candlelight.  Hey, he’s been working on figuring out what girls want.  Tess was generally pleased.  Except on the rare occasion...well, ok, still often occasion when his feet enter his mouth without any warning.  Then she generally thwaps him.  But that is getting rarer.  Really.

And tonight, he had to ask her something.

And they paddled,
And they paddled,
And they paddled some more
Until they hardly heard a sound.

And they talked,
And they talked
Until the moon got dim...

Kyle’s arms were starting to hurt.  He had been paddling for over an hour.  They had to be close to the island in the middle of the lake by now.

Maybe he should have brought a compass or something.  Or started before dark.

But then Mr. Lane probably would’ve caught them taking his boat.  And that would not have been pretty.

Especially if Mr. Lane decided to call the cops.

Yeah, Kyle was over eighteen now, but his dad would not be happy hearing about his son and his...Tess getting arrested.

“Kyle?”  Tess timid voice broke into his thoughts.

“Yeah?”  He looked up at her.  She was rather pale, and her hands were shaking.

“I have to tell you something.”

Kyle stopped rowing and blinked at her for a second.  “Ok,” he agreed.  “There’s something I want to talk to you about too.”

“Well, mine is pretty serious.”  Tess shifted uncomfortably in the canoe’s hard wooden seat.

“So is mine.”  Oh, no, what if she wanted to break up?

“Let me go first, ok?”  Not waiting for an answer, Tess rushed on into her practiced speech.  “Kyle, we’ve been friends, and more than friends for a long time, right?”

Kyle nodded slowly, not sure where this was going.  But he was getting nervous.

“Well, do you remember a couple of months ago when we were at Liz and Max’s wedding?  And we were...more than friends in the guest bedroom?”

“Yeah...”

“I think I’m pregnant.”

Kyle’s mouth fell open in shock and he came perilously close to losing a paddle.  “You think you’re WHAT?!”

Tess flinched and started babbling.  “Please don’t be mad.  I mean, I though birth control would work on me, but obviously it didn’t.  And I couldn’t stand it if you hated me now. And..”

“Tess!”

“What?!”

“Calm down.  You have to calm down.”  Kyle’s eyes looked a little wild, but his voice remained even.  He leaned forward to take her hand.  “Are you sure?”

“Not really.  I mean, Isabel and I have talked about alien girlie stuff before, but this never came up!”  Tess looked very distraught.  “I don’t even know if I could use one of those pregnancy test things.  What if the strip turned purple or something?”

“We will figure it out.  I promise.”  Kyle gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile.  Alien babies.  This was not good.  And yes, Michael and Maria already had a little podling at their house, but that was Michael and Maria, not Kyle and Tess.

She said, kiss me baby or get out and swim!

“Well, that was actually a nice little intro to what I wanted to talk to you about.”  Awkwardly, Kyle attempted to kneel in the boat.

Tess’s eyes widened and she squeaked.  Clapping a hand over her mouth, she sat completely still while Kyle searched through his pockets.

“Um..” Kyle finally remembered he had put the little box in his jacket pocket.  Which he had taken off while he was paddling.

Just a boy and a girl in a little canoe
With the moon shining all a-

He tried to maneuver his way back into his seat, but overbalanced.

“Kyle!”  Tess grabbed for him, but lost her grip.  He went into the water face first.

Girl paddling all a-

Kyle surfaced with a cough and grabbed onto the side of the canoe.  He looked into Tess’s shocked face and blurted out, “Do you want to get married?”

Tess stared at him for a moment.  He was sopping wet and treading water in the middle of a lake.  “Yes! Oh, yes!”  Tess threw herself forward into a hug.

Boy splashing all around.

Unfortunately, that was enough to tip the little canoe, and Tess joined her new fiancée in the lake.

She kissed him hard, while he tried to keep them both afloat and rescue his jacket, not to mention the rather expensive ring in the pocket.

Tess seemed to come back to herself suddenly and jerked away.  “Kyle,” she gasped, “I can’t swim!”

Splash! Splash!