Page 105 of Without Bound
“What the fuck does that mean?”
Laughing she explains, “A breeding kink is when the guy wants to knock up the girl and make tons of babies. It’s a pretty popular trope in the book world.”
I knit my eyebrows together and blink over and over, trying to put it all together because I felt like she just spoke in latin.
“Kink and trope? I have no idea what you’re talking about. The only words that made sense weremake tons of babies.And yes, I want to do that. A bunch of little Anais and Bishop’s running around.” I give her a quick kiss on the lips and give her a little butt tap. “But that is years away. Now c’mon. Let’s go home. I’m not getting anything done.” We finish dressing and she twines her fingers with mine.
“Ok. Let’s go home.”
35
Anais
Today is the day I’ve been dreading for the last three weeks. Vivian and Phoenix are arriving today, just two days before Christmas. I’m home with mama and they’ll be staying with gramma, so at least I won’t have to worry about running into them when I’m drinking my morning coffee. But I will have to stomach through spending Christmas with them.
My mom and I drive in silence to gramma’s house. I need the quiet to think about something other than seeing them. I think about Bishop and the beautiful gift he gave me before I left.
I touch the necklace resting just below my suprasternal notch. The double chain holds a small diamond heart that hangs just above a diamond butterfly. When I opened it I cried. And when he told me the meaning, I sobbed.
Music played in the background –Lenny, of course, because that’s his favorite– and we sat curled up in front of the Christmas tree I helped him decorate. He pulled out a box of ornaments that his mom has saved for every year he lived in their house. From newborn to college graduation –even though he didn’t live with them through college– twenty-two precious ornaments were placed on his tree.
When he placed all of them and more that he had on the tree, he brought out two boxes, one small and one larger and flatter.
“Open this one first,”he said, handing me the square box.
I gasped when I saw it for the first time. I pulled out a glass butterfly with beautiful purples and blues covering the wings. The thorax and abdomen were covered in crystals and when I held it up to the light, colors danced across the walls.
“This is gorgeous. Thank you.”I lunged at him and wrapped my arms around his neck, squeezing the breath from him.
“Go hang it on the tree,”he told me.
“What? No way. This is your tree. I don’t want to add a girly ornament to your manly tree,”I laughed.
Bishop stood and picked me up, holding me under my butt. My bare ass rested on his forearms as I was dressed only in his t-shirt. He walked me over to the tree and said,“Put that ornament on our tree and next year we’ll add another.”
My poor heart felt like it was going to burst, it was so full. I found the perfect spot for my butterfly and hung it. The bright white lights of the tree made the colors on the wings dance and shine. It was like a sun catcher on a summer day.
He kissed me then carried me over to the couch where we sat –me on his lap– and he handed me the second box. If I thought the first was too much, this one was extraordinary.
“You have my heart, my little butterfly. I want you to know that you will always have my heart. No matter what happens, where the future may take us, it is yours. Whenever you think life is too hard or that we can’t possibly weather this storm that surrounds us, just touch this and know that I am with you. Through all the good and the bad, we’ll do it together.”
“Together,”I replied, sniffing away the tears that had begun to fall.
We pull into my gramma’s driveway and I blink, realizing I was so lost in my memory that I didn’t have time to panic.
The car stops and I take a deep breath before opening the car door. I step out and see the front door open and gramma standing there with a smile and twinkle in her eye. I make my way over to her and pull her into a tight hug.
“Hi my precious girl.”
“Hi gramma.” I kiss her cheek then take her hand as we walk inside the house.
We clear the foyer and step into the living room. There stands Phoenix and Vivian, both with big grins on their faces.
“Hey Peanut.” Phoenix makes like he’s going to step towards me, but I put a stop to that when I glare at him, ignoring his greeting.
Vivian gulps and decides to keep her mouth shut. Wise of her since I’m sure she was about to greet me with a sugary sweet hello in an attempt to calm the waters.
“Gramma. Is it okay if I grab a soda?” I ask her, walking into the kitchen.
