Page 85 of Without Bound
The beams from headlights illuminate the garage as her car pulls into the driveway. I wave her in and she slowly pulls her car into the garage. She shuts off the engine and I immediately close the door, locking us in and out of sight.
“Oh my god. I thought my Uncle was here to kill you!” She leaps into my arms and begins peppering my face with kisses. “I wasn’t sure if I should leave or call the police.”
“I’m fine, baby girl.” I squeeze her tightly in my arms and nuzzle my nose into her neck. “He stopped by unexpectedly. I was trying to get him out of here.”
She wraps her legs around me and I carry her in the house and up the stairs. Aside from the song that has now changed, everything is still as it was before Nix came by.
She slides down my body with a gasp and asks, “Is this for me?”
Her head whips between me and the scene in front of her, and I notice her eyes glisten. She moves her way further into the living room to admire the set up. I sneak up behind her and wrap my arms around her small waist.
“All for you,” I whisper into her ear.
I take her hand and pull her over to the cushions and help her to sit. The music plays on and the smile on her face is electrifying. If I was a dying man, the intensity of her smile could bring me back to life.
Her eyes continue to search the space, stopping at each bouquet.
“Wildflowers,” she muses.
“Because butterflies dance in fields of wildflowers. So I thought I’d bring the wildflowers to my butterfly.” She bites her lip and pats the seat next to hers.
I kneel to kiss her and feel my body ease. She brings a peace to me that I never thought possible. I realize that our relationship is going to cause some waves in the bonds that I have with my friends, but sometimes love is worth sacrificing everything for.
“Let me get our food. Then we can pick this up later.” We separate and I step into the kitchen where the food sits in the oven to keep warm.
“I’ll help,” Anais says and grabs a set of oven mitts. “Where do you want this?”
She takes the dish with the rosemary potatoes from me and I grab the roasted chicken. “Just put it right on the tray. I’ll get the vegetables and then come back for the rest.”
I follow her to where the plates are set up and we place the dishes in the middle. I go back for the zucchini and squash and grab the bottle of wine, as well. Anais takes the bottle from me and I squeeze the vegetables into the last open space, then lower myself on the cushion.
My knees pop as I sit. Just a little souvenir from baseball that I’ll carry with me for the rest of my days.
By the time I’ve settled myself, Anais has served us each a piece of chicken and reaches for the potatoes. We work together like a couple that has been doing this for years, and finish plating our food and pouring the wine.
She takes the first bite and moans, her eyes rolling in delight.
“How are you such a good cook? You know you’re going to be in charge of all of the cooking for our family, right?” She shovels a forkful of potatoes into her mouth and chews like she didn’t just drop my every dream into my lap.
“Our family?” I ask her and she slows her eating to look up at me.
“Um,” she forces the chewed up bite down her throat and takes a sip of wine. “I guess, I mean-I was just thinking out loud.”
She shrugs and I tap the tip of her nose. “I like the way that sounds. But you’ve got a few years before that can happen.”
Her smile returns as she stabs at her zucchini. “Yeah? Are you going to be a stay at home daddy? Take care of kids and do school drop off in a minivan?”
I practically choke on my food and have to pound my chest. “School drop off, daddy duty, dinners and lunches, I’m on it. But I’ll carry ten kids on my back all the way to school before I drive a damn minivan.”
“What the fuck? Ten? Bishop, I’m not a baby factory.”
“We’ll work out the exact number later. We have some time before we need to nail it down.” I take a bite of my chicken and wink at her.
“So how do you see this confession to Nix going down? Because to be honest, I think we should just keep it between us and hide away from the world.”
I set my fork down and rest my elbows on the tray. “You know we can’t do that. Besides, I want to be able to show you off. Let everyone know you’re my girl.” She bats her lashes and the apples of her cheeks tinge pink. “I’ll be honest. I don’t think he’s going to take it too well. He’s going to be pissed at me for sure, but you’ll be fine. I’ll just have to wait out the storm until he comes around.”
The mood grows a little tense and Anais crawls her way over to me.
