Page 33 of Tower
“Theyareimportant.” I straighten up so I can glare at him. “They are. They’ve given fruit to your family for five generations. Their leaves make the oxygen we need to survive. They’ve given shade to life of every variety. They’ve kept all kinds of wildlife alive. They’re important. They’re part of your family.”
He’s shaking just slightly, his jaw and shoulders tense. Then he relaxes with a gust of a sigh. “Yeah. Yeah, they are. Thirty-four weddings in my family happened in this gazebo. Now I’m the only one left. Me and what’s left of the trees.”
A tear slips down my cheek. Then another.
He reaches over and swipes them away with his fingertips. “You shouldn’t cry for me, sweetheart.”
“I can cry for anyone I want.” Before I second-guess myself, I lean over and press a kiss on his mouth.
He’s surprised. He stiffens. Freezes.
Since there’s no turning back now, I move my lips against his until they soften. He lifts a hand to wrap around the side of my neck, holding my head steady so he can deepen the kiss.
Pleasure and excitement spirals out from my chest. My head buzzes. I wrap an arm around him and kiss him eagerly.
After a minute, he pulls back.
Frustrated, I try to chase the kiss, but he holds me back.
“You didn’t like it?” I ask, confused and disappointed.
“Course I liked it! Best thing to ever happen in my life. But I can’t kiss you out here, girl. I’ll get too distracted, and then I can’t watch for trouble.”
“Oh.” I’m smiling as I lean back to my place on the bench. “I guess that makes sense. Maybe we can kiss more later?”
“Goddamn right, we will.”
The next morning Levi starts to get out of bed when it’s still dark.
I usually wake up briefly when he does and then doze for a while before I get up too. So I smile at him sleepily as he gazes down at me.
“Mornin’. You wanna come to the river with me today? We can get back in time for you to still do your yoga thing.”
I pop up from the bed like a jack-in-the-box. “Yes! I would love that.”
A little smile twitches on his mouth as he pulls up his jeans. “Good.”
10
A month after that,I wake up on my birthday to Levi gently shaking my shoulder and saying in his rumbly voice, “Time to get up, girl.”
I’m not disoriented. I know where I am and what day it is. But I have trouble prying up my eyelids, and I make a whiny sound.
“You don’t gotta come with me if you wanna sleep later.”
On a different day, I would have taken him up on that. I’ve been going with him to the river most mornings for weeks now, but every once in a while if I don’t sleep well or if I’m not feeling well, I skip.
But today is my birthday, and I want to spend the first part of the morning with Levi.
So I drag myself out of bed, and after we go to the bathroom in the tents, we walk the two miles to the river.
We have fun washing up. I splash Levi one too many times, so he chases me, and we have a little wrestling match that ends with kissing. After we’ve dried and dressed, we both sit on the rock. He puts his arm around me, and we enjoy the quiet.
I understand now why Levi fell into this habit every morning. Not simply to wash up in privacy but also to get away. Be alone. Feel at peace for what’s often the only time all day.
Sometimes we sit in contented silence, and sometimes we talk. He’s told me more about his family and his upbringing. I’ve told him about all my college experiences and the plans I used to have for my future. We discuss issues that arise in the gang, and he’ll sometimes talk through prickly scenarios regarding conflict among our people.
I love it.
