Page 188 of Affair
This?
Never.
“Remember that morning about a month in, when it was my birthday?”
Poe did.
“Yes.”
How could he forget? He’d been lucky enough to be around to have that moment with him.
Birthdays were special.
“No one has ever known my birthday. I didn’t celebrate them anymore. As a Marine, you lose track of time and people. You kinda just exist. That morning, you made me pancakes and put sprinkles on them, and shoved a candle through them. That night, we had cake. It was a day I’ll never forget.”
Poe was honest.
“Why wouldn’t we celebrate? It was your birthday. That’s a big thing,” he admitted. “You only get one a year,” he added.
Was it big?
His sperm and egg donor didn’t think so. The Marines didn’t think so.
So Gamble didn’t think so.
“You gave me a present I kept. It’s in my ruck sack in my room.”
Poe wasn’t sure where this was going. He didn’t recall giving him a present.
Gamble explained.
“You got me a card, and you wrote in it. You told me that it was your absolute pleasure to be around me and to celebrate this special day with me. You told me that you hoped I’d be around for next year, when you could make me pancakes again.”
Poe just listened.
It was what he did best.
“I blew out that candle, and I knew one thing. I wished for that next birthday. In that moment, I wanted to stay with you. I wanted to rub down horses, and trip over Rufus. In that moment, I knew you’d save me, and I’d get better. I fell in love with you and your heart. I fell in love with how you slip back into that British accent when you’re irritated or surprised. I put all of me in your hands, and you didn’t disappoint me. You were the first personNOTto disappoint me.”
Poe listened.
“I don’t know what chases me, but I know that you’re a good man, and you’re why I’m alive today. I’ll fight,” he stated. “I’ll make the best decision for both of us because I want you to be happy.”
Poe didn’t like that.
That still sounded like a goodbye.
“So you’re still leaving?” he asked.
“I’m not sure. I don’t know what’s chasing me. If it’s something I can get The Hunters to help me clear up, I’ll stay.”
“And if it’s not?” he asked, already knowing the answer to that.
Gamble stared into his eyes.
“Then run with me.”
He was surprised.
