Page 181 of Wrench
really upset her. Once I managed to stumble downstairs safely, I noticed the kitchen
empty.
¡°Fuck,¡± I said, feeling rejected until I noticed laughter coming from the other side of
the maroon batwing door. ¡°Thank God.¡±
On the other side of the door was my new life.
Loud classic rock pumped over the speakers, yet the bar was clear of any paying
customers. Though, there was a small party of six going stronger than fifty of our
regulars. Evelyn was perched on Tank¡¯s lap, shoving a piece of Hawaiian pizza in her
mouth. I could smell it from where I was standing. On a bench of chairs, Archer had his
leg resting while he keeled over with laughter, beer coming from his nose. And then,
sitting between Archer and Ripper, there was Samantha.
A wide smile was spread on her lips, showing all of her shining white teeth, while she
leaned across the table and raised a toast to Crow with her tankard of beer.
It was the perfect scene.
¡°Samantha,¡± I breathed out unintentionally and everyone went silent aside from
Samantha who hopped up from her seat.
¡°Isaac!¡± she said while scurrying toward me. ¡°What are you doing!? You shouldn¡¯t be
walking around! I was just about to come up and check on¡ª¡±
When she got into arm¡¯s reach, I grabbed her hand and kissed her.
Gentler, yet more powerful than any other time we had kissed, I cupped her face. It
was like I was sitting on a front porch on a late spring day, flowers blooming around me
with an ice-cold glass of lemonade. With her by my side.
I pulled away, looked deep into her eyes and said, ¡°I love you.¡±
Her brows shot up. ¡°What?¡±
At the table, Evelyn squealed with delight, making me pull my eyes from Samantha to
see Tank shushing her.
¡°I love you, too,¡± she said.
I was hit with a feeling of euphoria and relief when the words left her lips. ¡°R-really?¡±
¡°Yes,¡± she said.
¡°Growing up, I never got the hype about love and marriage. Seemed like a perfect way
