Thomas

"Is it truly that bad?" Sophie said looking down at her wet skirts.

"Nah," he said casually, kicking off his second boot. "The dress will dry."

Truthfully, she looked radiant, Thomas thought. Her face was smudged along with her dress but somehow she made it look good. Watching her tromp around and play in the water was one of the most delightful things he had ever witnessed. There was no way he wasn't joining her.

He rolled up his pant legs and stepped into the water.

"It feels so good Thomas, I want to do this everyday!" She said emphatically.

He certainly had never appreciated this before and he didn't know how he could have missed out on the delight of it before now. He allowed himself to smile as he waded deeper, letting his own pants get wet. She gave him a mischievous look and then kicked a massive shower of water at him soaking his shirt. He got a good glimpse of her flawless long legs and she kicked and splashed. He almost didn't notice the water he was so taken back by them.

"Are you sure you want to play that way?" he challenged as he wiped the water off his face.

"What are you going to do about it?" she asked equally as challenging.

"You're going to regret saying that," he said with a shrewd smile. "You are not in England anymore," he warned as he dipped both hands in the river, scooping a large cup of water and showing her with a massive wave of water. She screamed with delight and he did it again. She started kicking and splashing him back until there were both entirely soaked through.

"Thomas!" she shrieked. "Mercy!" she said giggling. She was shielding herself from the constant stream of water, her arms up in surrender. "You're going to drown me!" she was in a fit of giggles. Thomas himself was rolling with laughter. He didn't know the last time he had laughed quite so hard.

"Alright," he conceded, watching her try and wring the water off herself.

"I am drenched" she exclaimed.

"You asked for it," he said, teasing. He recognized how beautiful she looked wet.

"Ho to shore!" a voice called from the center of the river. They both looked up to see where the voice came from.

"Ahoy to canoe!" Thomas called.

Sophie looked a little embarrassed at first to be caught in such a precarious position. She also looked extremely curious as she observed the boat.

"Hey ol' Ben! How are you?" Thomas called. Ben paddled over to Thomas and Sophie. Sophie waded closer to Thomas shielding herself behind him.

"Well what do we have here?" Ben said as he got close enough to see them clearly. "Who is your new friend Thomas?"

"Ah yes, Ben this is Sophie Collins," he said motioning behind him. He stepped aside slightly so Ben could see her but she pressed herself closer to him, pressing her hand against his back. He could feel her breath on his wet shirt.

"Ah Sophie," he said in a low chuckle. "Jeremiah's girl," he said in understanding.

"Yes, I was," he shuddered. "I was just showing her around you know. Showing her the river," he motioned to the water. "She has never seen the river before," Both Ben and Thomas laughed heartily. Thomas could feel Sophie relax behind him.

"Sophie!" Ben called craning his head around to see her. He beached his canoe just in front of them. "It's great to finally meet you. What do you think of the River?"

"Hello, yes. The river? I think the river is simply lovely but also uhhh...really wet," she said with a laugh.

"I can see that." Ben said.

"Sophie, this is Ben. He was one of the first to settle here in Jamestown."

"Oh yeah," Ben chuckled. "I'm becoming a bit of a relic you could say."

Ben was in his mid sixties but as spry as ever. He was bearded and his skin leathery but his eyes were bright and cheery. Thomas could tell that Sophie was nervous about meeting him in such a precarious position but Thomas knew that there wasn't a judgmental bone in Ben's body.

"Well," Ben said in his long drawl. "I'm certainly glad to see that you two are getting on."

"I'm glad to see that you are back Ben. How was your journey?" Thomas asked.

"Aye," he said. "It was very profitable." He held up several pelts that were in his canoe.

"Ah, I see you were! That's great to see."

Sophie stepped out just slightly from behind Thomas to see the soft thick furs that Ben had in the bottom of his boat. She eyed them with appreciation.

"Okay, well you two stay out of trouble," he said as he shoved off back into the river."

"Will do, see you in town!" Thomas waved.

Sophie watched Ben curiously as he rowed away.

"Have you ever been out there with a boat?" she asked watching Ben row away.

"Oh yeah, sure." Thomas said. "Have you not?"

"No, never." She scoffed.

"Well I will take you. Are you free tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow? Yes of course. Really? Really you will take me in one of those?" She pointed to the canoe as it disappeared in the distance.

"Yes," he said. It was amazing how easy it was to please her.

Thomas stood in front of her now examining her completely. He reached down and pulled a stick out of her hair. She laughed nervously.

"I'm a bit of a mess," she said under her breath.

"Nah, you're perfect." It was foolish of him to say such things but she didn't seem to mind.

"Well, now what do we do?" she asked.

"Now," he put his hands on his hips. "We ring ourselves out and go to the next farm."

"More? There's more?" her mouth fell open. She looked down at herself. Her skirts must be ten pounds heavier now that they were full of water. "I maybe should have rethought getting into the river."

"Nah, that was the most fun I've had in forever." Thomas took her hand in his and helped her wade through the water back to shore.