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Alvaro: She would . . . if she knew I got a dog.
Naomi: ALVIE!
Naomi: DID YOU GET A DOG AND NOT TELL YOUR WIFE?
Alvaro: :shrugging emoji:
Naomi: You’re ridiculous.
Alvaro: Bex will be fine.
I wait for another text to come through, but I’m met with silence. Instead, I sit there, hyping myself up to ask the question that I’ve so desperately wondered for the past few weeks.
Naomi: How is she?
I can practically hear the sigh come through the text bubble that pops up.
Alvaro: I’m not really comfortable talking about my wife behind her back.
Naomi: That’s okay. I just . . . I think about her and everything that happened a lot.
Alvaro: Do you want to talk about it? I’m a good listener.
Naomi: I don’t want to put you in that position, Alvie.
Alvaro: Just because I’m married to Bex doesn’t mean I always agree with her.
Alvaro: Or that I can’t be there to support the other people I care about, Nay.
Naomi: Maybe later? I just need time.
Alvaro: Time is worth as much as what you do with it. Don’t waste it.
Naomi: Yes, sir.
Naomi: Thank you, Alvie.
Alvaro: Anytime, bunny.
For some reason, that one word, one endearment, has me grinning from ear to ear.
Alvie continues to send me pictures and videos, and when asked, and sometimes when he’s not, he always supplies me with Milkshake content.
For those brief moments each day, the world seems a little brighter, but it almost makes the other times seem that much darker.
We start talking more, though, just the two of us.
He tells me about his family and how he came to inherit the ranch, his career as a competitive cowboy and all that time on the road. He’s surprisingly open with me and he never hesitates to answer my questions, even the tough ones.
His respect for both Bex’s and my boundaries, though, is impressive. He never asks for information from me and always asks for permission to share any piece of information I’ve told him with her. While I make a point to avoid asking about her, there are times when Bex sneaks into our conversation, but he’s always super respectful about what he shares. And he never pushes me to talk about it.
It’s me who caves first on a particularly rough day.
Naomi: I want to talk about it.
The thought of him not responding already has me crying, but his reply is instant.
Alvaro: Alright. Do you want me to call? I can be free right now.
