If you had told me three years ago that I’d be hiding behind a gorse bush in the middle of a New Zealand sheep pasture at two in the morning, holding a bag of gourmet marshmallows, I would have told you to check your medication.
Yet, here I was. And right next to me, squeezed into the same cramped bush, was my brilliant, terrifyingly gorgeous wife. Veronica wasn't looking at the scenery, though. She was glaring through a pair of night-vision goggles that were way too big for her face, her nose pressed so close to my cheek I could feel the cold tip of it.
"Gregg, they’re doing it again," she whispered, her voice a mix of absolute bewilderment and the specific kind of competitive fury she usually reserved for when I beat her at Scrabble. "Look at them. The sheep on the left are forming a perfect isosceles triangle. Sheep do not understand geometry. They barely understand stairs."
"Maybe they’re just very organized sheep, Ronnie," I murmured, shivering as a gust of wind swept over the hill. I slid my arm around her waist, pulling her flush against my chest to keep her warm. She didn't protest. Instead, she leaned backward into me, her head tucking perfectly under my chin.
"It’s not funny," she muttered, though she didn't move away. "The local farmer said he went to bed with a normal, chaotic flock and woke up to a woolly representation of the solar system. I am not letting a bunch of farm animals out-smart my logic."
"You're adorable when you're threatened by livestock," I teased, kissing the top of her messy bun. It smelled like the vanilla hair oil she’d started using, mixed with the distinct aroma of wet grass.
"I am not threatened," she puffed, turning her head so fast her goggles smacked into my chin. "Ow! Sorry. But seriously, look! The ram in the center just blinked, and the entire outer ring shifted three feet to the right. It’s like a flash mob. A very fluffy, highly coordinated flash mob."
Before I could point out that the 'flash mob' was currently looking right at us, the air around the pasture went completely static. My hair stood flat on end, and the bag of marshmallows in my hand started to vibrate. In the center of the isosceles triangle of sheep, a soft, neon-pink glow began to bubble up from the grass, lighting up the entire field like a retro bowling alley.
The sheep didn't panic. They just let out a collective, synchronized "Baaaa" that sounded remarkably like a barbershop quartet tuning up.
"Okay, that is definitely not standard animal behavior," Veronica breathed, her goggles dropping around her neck. Her green eyes were wide, completely illuminated by the bright pink light. She looked utterly beautiful, totally freaked out, and entirely out of her academic comfort zone.
"Want to go tap it?" I asked, grinning.
"Are you insane? We don't know what—"
I didn't let her finish. I grabbed her hand, gave it a firm tug, and broke into a run across the damp grass. Veronica let out a yelp that was half-laugh, half-shriek, her boots squelching loudly in the mud as she stumbled along with me.
We burst through the perimeter of the flock. The sheep politely parted for us, nodding their heads as if we were VIP guests arriving late to the party. We stopped right at the edge of the glowing pink circle. The grass beneath it wasn't burning; it looked like a puddle of liquid neon, pulsing gently to a rhythm that felt suspiciously like an upbeat pop track.
Veronica looked at the pink light, then up at me, her cheeks flushed bright red from the sprint. "Gregg, if this turns us into sheep, I am divorcing you."
"Fair code," I laughed. "On three?"
We didn't even count. We just squeezed each other’s hands and stepped right into the pink glow together.
The world didn't end, and we didn't grow wool. Instead, a sudden, massive wave of pure, unadulterated warmth slammed into us, completely evaporating the freezing night chill. The pink light erupted upward into a harmless shower of sparkling, silent fireworks that drifted into the night sky, spelling out a tiny, unmistakable smiley face before vanishing into the stars.
The sheep immediately broke formation, wandering off to munch on grass as if nothing had happened.
Veronica stood frozen in the middle of the field, staring up at the empty sky. She blinked once, twice, and then looked down at our joined hands. A helpless, breathless laugh bubbled out of her chest. She threw her arms around my neck, burying her face in my shoulder as her shoulders shook with pure amusement.
"A smiley face?" she laughed against my skin. "The universe just gave us a smiley face?"
"Hey, the grid has a sense of humor," I chuckled, wrapping my arms tight around her waist and spinning her around once in the grass. "I told you it was a fun phenomenon."
"You are infuriating," she said, pulling back just enough to look at me, her hands framing my face. The fierce, brilliant love in her eyes was brighter than any neon anomaly we’d ever hunt. "But you're also entirely mine."
"Damn right," I murmured, leaning down to catch her lips in a deep, goofy, hopelessly romantic kiss right there in the middle of the pasture. One of the nearby sheep let out a loud, encouraging bleat, breaking the moment, and we both burst out laughing.
An hour later, we were safely back at our small camper van parked at the edge of the tree line. The indoor heater was cranking out a beautiful, cozy warmth, and I had a small blue flame going on the gas stove.
I carefully toasted a giant marshmallow on a metal skewer, sliding it between two graham crackers and a thick slab of dairy milk chocolate. I handed the messy, gooey creation to Veronica, who was sitting on the built-in bed wrapped in our favorite plaid blanket.
"To the geometric sheep," I said, raising my own s'more. "And to the scientist who survived a pink flash mob."
Veronica took a massive, decidedly unscientific bite, getting a prominent dollop of white marshmallow fluff right on her upper lip. She smiled up at me, her eyes crinkling. "Shut up and kiss me again, Gregg. Just wipe the sugar off first."
"Your wish is my command, partner," I grinned, climbing into the blanket beside her.
Whispers and Warm Blankets has been developed using AI tools
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