The Next Generation Chapter 9
| The Next Generation | |
|---|---|
| Chapter 9 of 19 | |
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| Time frame | Summer, 1984 |
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Characters
Summary
In June Judy tells Ken that there's a problem; Lori was pregnant and wouldn't be able to room with her next year. They decide to see if Western has a counselor who can help Judy find another roommate, and to stick to their plan. In the midst of heavy farm work, catching up because of heavy spring rains, they take an afternoon to attend Lori and Bob's wedding.
A few days later, they are at the young adults meeting at the Arvada Center church. Greg asks if they are still going to Isle Royale, and Ken replies that the trip had been washed out, but asks if Greg wanted to go with Ken for a while. Eventually it ends up that Dani and Judy also go on the trip; when they are on the ferry ride to Isle Royale, Greg and Dani announce that they want to split up by couples. Finally Ken and Judy agree that if they go by themselves, "Just because they think we're doing something doesn't mean we have to do it."
Ken and Judy plan out a route, and stop for the night in a campground in Rock Harbor. They decide to risk going out into the big lake and following the shoreline to avoid a long portage. In the morning, Ken wakes up and calls Judy to see the aurora borealis. They quickly set off before dawn, but when the sun came up, so did a strong head wind. When they tried to turn back, the wind was blowing them away from the bay as it strengthened and the waves came up; they saw a small bay and decided to head for cover there. Only Judy's upper body strength made it possible for them to get into a small cove in the bay, where they found a space just big enough for their tent and were able to dry out their clothes on the warming rocks. Judy suggested that they could sunbathe nude and Ken agrees. As they lie on the warm rock, Judy mentions that she's surprised that Ken has never made a pass at her; Ken replies that if he did he was afraid that she would take it wrong and he would lose her. She asks if he was scared off by her being crippled, and he reminds her that without her upper body strength that they both would be dead. He goes on to say " Judy, I've always known that your crutches make you think that you're not appealing. Now, I'd just like to say that if you hadn't been on crutches, a doll like you would never have been interested in a farm boy like me. You've got lips I love to kiss, and a chest that's out of this world, and there's something that we've never done that I'd very much like to do with you. Does that count as a pass?"
He goes on to tell her that he doesn't "ever want you think that I'm taking advantage of you because you're handicapped. So, I'm perfectly willing to wait until after we're married, if you are."
Judy and Ken realize that a marriage proposal has been made and accepted.
