B is for Bridge

“Do you trust me?” I looked at him as I asked the question, waiting for the response.

“Of course,” he replied. “Wait, what are we talking about? I’m not going on that roller coaster again. Ever.”

I laughed. “I know. I just saw a quote this week and the bridge in front of us reminded me of it.”

“What quote?”

“Life is like a bridge who is still under construction. I saw it online and thought it was great.”

He looked at the bridge in front of us. “It looks like it needs more construction.”

“That’s kind of the point of the quote, dork.”

“So…where does the trust come in?”

“I’m going to blindfold you and then verbally guide you across the bridge. I won’t touch you–you’ll have to just follow my directions.”

“Walk blindfolded across that?? Are you crazy?”

“If you don’t want to, I totally understand,” I said as I looked down. “Of course, then the surprise doesn’t happen. But that’s ok, too.”

“What surprise?”

I laughed. “Suprise? You know–those things that you don’t know about until they happen?”

He looked back at the bridge, chewing his lip. “If I fall in, do I still get the surprise?”

“The surprise is for trying and not giving up by taking off the blindfold. If you slip or lose your balance, yes, you still get the surprise.”

He sighed. “This better be an awesome surprise. I assume you have a blindfold?”

“I’m always prepared,” I say as I pull one out of my backpack. “Turn around.”

After the blindfold is secured, I lead him to the center of the bridge entrance. “Put your foot straight ahead and the bridge is right there.” He edged his right toe forward and then slid it on the board. He followed it with his left foot and then stood still. I backed up about three feet so I was out of his reach.

“Step forward towards my voice. One step at a time.” He started to slide his foot and caught on a rough spot. “You are going to have to actually walk or you’ll trip on the boards.”

He put his arms out wide for balance and took a step forward, followed by a second. I backed up each time he came closer. “Wait. You are drifting to the right. Turn to your left a little before you take your next step and then straighten out again.”

I could see the sweat on his face from the adrenaline soaring through his body. He corrected his course and then continued on, step by step. I saw that he came close to removing the blindfold at one loud creak from the old bridge, but he kept going.

As I took steps off the far side of the bridge, I smiled. I had known that he’d do it, but it was so far outside of his comfort zone that the bribe had been necessary. “Guess what? Two more steps and you’ll be on solid ground again.”

He looked up like he could see the edge. “Really?” He took one step and then cautiously stepped forward, searching for the ground off the edge of the bridge. He stepped off and then pulled off the blindfold. Turning around, he looked at the bridge and let out a loud whoop, then turned and spun me around in a hug.

“What’s my surprise?”

I grabbed my phone and showed him a picture. “Those are our accommodations for the evening. There’s even a hot tub and fireplace.”

“See? I told you that I trust you,” he said as he hugged me again.

“I knew you did. But life is all about adventure. Ready to go do some exploring in the room?” I waggled my eyebrows at him.

“Hell, yes!”