Martinsburg, West Virginia
War Memorial Park
Saturday, August 24, 1996
12:01 PM

"Get somewhere in the shade," Rem stated as Jennie ran in front of him with a blanket clutched against her chest.
"How about here?" Jennie asked, pointing to an area in front of a large tree.
"No, too many kids," Rem muttered as a few kids rushed around him making him stop in his tracks. "Stupid fuckers."
"Stop cussing at the kids," Jennie stated as she pointed up to another tree that was sitting on a large hill. "That's secluded and we can almost see the whole park."
"That's fine." he replied as they both hiked up the hill.
With a flick of her hand, Jennie whipped out the blanket as it fluttered to the ground. She smoothed out the corners then sat on it. Watching as Rem placed down the basket in the middle before flopping beside her, she smiled.
"I made the sandwiches," Rem mumbled as if trying to break the silence. "I tried to get Rachael to make them, but she refused. Said something about it being more personal if I did them. Whatever the fuck that meant."
"What kind did you make?" she asked, lifting up the lid of the basket and peering inside. With her eyes wide in alarm, she closed it and looked up at him. "You made those?! They're squashed and have knuckles prints."
"I was mad," he stated flatly. Then said in a sharp tone, "They're still good!" He spread out his legs and laid back on his arms in a comfortable position then fumed to himself.
"Maybe I'll just go get something at the concession stand," she replied, getting to her feet.
"You saying my sandwiches aren't good enough for you?!" he shouted as Jennie flipped to face him while pointing a stern finger at the basket.
"Those things are the nastiest sandwiches I've ever seen. For all I know you wiped your..." Her body lunged forward as a volleyball smacked her in the back of the head. Her arms flailed out as she went face first into Rem's chest, flatting him to the ground.
Rem's arms wrapped around her body protectively as he groaned to himself. The ball then rolled back down the hill to the group of kids who were playing with it. Both laid in silence for a moment until he nudged her.
"I'm okay," she said while wincing in pain. "I'm going to have a headache though."
She pushed herself up slightly as his hands slipped to her arms, holding her in place. Both gazed at each other as she sat straddling him at the waist.
"You sure you're okay?" he asked.
"I'm fine," she groaned.
The situation was awkward and something she had only seen in movies or read in books before, but it caused her heart quicken its pace nonetheless. And while a new stirring was bubbling in the pit of her stomach, she felt Rem's leg slid up and bumped against her back, causing her to slip closer into him.
Too cliché. Seriously. It was all she could think when she realized his lips were inches from his. It was an effortless gesture as Rem pulled Jennie's mouth against his. The warm moistness of his lips made the fizzling in her belly grow as she felt him open his mouth slightly.
Shock overwhelmed her senses as she obeyed what remaining thoughts she had. She wasn’t sure what she was doing, but it seemed right.
"Geez, you two should get a room. There's little kids out here you know."
Fear rushed through her as Jennie shoved herself free of Rem's grasp and looked back to see Ashlee staring at them with humorous eyes. She held a volleyball in her hands then grinned.
"I never thought I would see the day when Rem would find himself a decent girlfriend. I mean Hana was a real bitch."
"Yeah, but she put out," Rem stated, sitting up and rubbing at the back of his neck. "What the hell are you doing here anyway?"
"Playing some volleyball," she said, raising the ball in her hands up. "Want to play?"
"I'm trying to have some personal time here," Rem growled.
"You don't have to get all huffy-puffy on me," Ashlee snapped in return.
"Come on," Jennie said as her cheeks reddened. "Let's eat then go mini-golfing." Crawling back to the picnic basket, she opened it and peered at the sandwiches. "Oh, I forgot...um, let's just throw these...things...away and get something at the stand."

2:21 PM

Jennie's mouth dropped open as Rem placed the golf putter over his shoulders and hung his arms over it. He had an overly pleasant look on his face while Jennie turned to give him her best annoyed look. "You got a hole in one for the past five holes," she growled.
"You're the one who challenged me," Rem remarked as he grinned. "You've been doing okay." He cocked his head to the side then pointed to the score card which she was holding. "What the score so far?"
"Five to fifteen," Jennie muttered as Rem let out a laugh.
"You can't always win. Especially against me," he replied, walking toward the next hole when a group of kids rushed past him, waving their clubs around wildly.
Peering back to the concession stand where they had gotten their golf balls and clubs, Jennie noticed a school bus and a few adults wearing a blue shirts with some children's association written on it. "Looks like they're bringing kids to play mini-golf, too."
"The fuckers," Rem muttered as he headed to the next hole with Jennie following behind.
Both stopped dead in their tracks when they noticed the kids had already gotten a hold of the hole. "Wait a minute," Rem stated flatly as he peered at the kids with an agitated look. "What are you doing?"
One of the small children looked at Rem then pointed to his gold ball. "Playing," the kid replied.
"You're suppose to start back there," Rem growled, pointing to the first hole. "Not skip to the sixth."
"So," the kid remarked as Jennie could see a flare of hate pass over Rem's eyes.
"Go back to the first hole and start there!" Rem shouted as he sent the kids scurrying back to the beginning of the course.
"You don't have to be so mean. They're only kids," Jennie said as she stared at the fuming demon in front of her.
"Yeah, but someone needs to teach them from right and wrong," Rem stated. "And it seems the people looking after them couldn't give a damn. Look at them...all flirting amongst themselves while the kids are beating each other up with the clubs."
Two holes later Rem was clutching is putter tightly while a group of kids were hovering behind him. "How did they get here so fucking fast?!" he screamed at Jennie who was trying to putt up a hill.
Jennie's ball went halfway up then came back down where Rem caught it with his foot. "Sorry," Jennie whispered.
"I won't count it," Rem replied. "At least get it up the hill first."
"Hurry up!" one of the kids shouted.
"Shut the fuck up, you little bastard!" Rem yelled abruptly, whipping around to give the children the look of heated anger.
Getting her ball up the hill, Jennie headed up after it while Rem was placing his ball down. The ball rolled up the hill easily, bumping into Jennie's. He quickly followed up the hill.
By the time he got to the top, he noticed a few extra balls on the green. "What the hell?"
"They're playing through us," Jennie remarked as she pointed to the kids who were coming up the hill after their balls.
"Do you not know what patience is!?" Rem snapped as he reached down to grab the kids' balls. With a quick flick of his wrist he sent the balls flying through the air where they landed in the nearby swimming pool.
The crying wails of the kids erupted through the air as Rem growled to himself. "Let's get the hell out of here," he replied coldly as he picked up his own ball. "These kids are pissing me off."
Grabbing her ball off the green, Jennie followed after the furious Rem. "What are we going to do now?" she asked.
"How about we just go to the mall?" he asked as he abruptly sighed to himself. He looked over his shoulder and gave her a sad expression. "Sorry that its been a hellish day so far."
"I'm having fun," Jennie said with a laugh.
"You sure?" he asked as he paused in his steps.
"Yeah," she whispered as they two stood there staring at each other.
"How about I treat you to something at the mall then?" he asked. "Maybe one of those...stuff animals? Girls like that, right?"
"Yeah," Jennie laughed as smirked. "You've dated girls before, right? You ought to know what they like."
"I dated a girl who only liked to spend time in the sack, so there was never a need to buy her anything," Rem replied as he headed off.