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Luisa sipped her coffee. “Anxious,” she responded.
I smiled but she didn’t.
“Is there something I’ve done to give you pause?” I asked.
She walked over to the window and looked outside. “Not you.”
I joined her and wrapped my arms around her waist. “There are just the two of us, my darling.”
She turned and rested her hands on my shoulders. “Yesterday, when we were reviewing the work I’d be doing, I felt the same kind of excitement I had when I started my MBA, immediately followed by the same trepidation.”
“What quelled your enthusiasm?”
“If you mean with my MBA, it was my first small-group project. There was one guy who was a total misogynist. It wasn’t just me he disdained; it was all women. But, given I was the only female in our group, he singled me out. Either I wasn’t making enough of a contribution or the work I did wasn’t good enough for him.
I came close to quitting the program because of him.” Her cheeks flushed as if the admission embarrassed her. “My professor talked me into sticking it out, and I wound up with the best grade of the group. Of course, that only served to make the guy hate me even more.”
“I’m proud of you for sticking it out.”
She looked down at the floor. “I was bullied in high school because of my dad and the accident.”
I cupped her cheek, and she looked up at me. “I wish I’d been there to protect you from it.”
Luisa shrugged a shoulder. “I remember feeling the same way while I worked on that one project as I did back then—powerless against the bully.”
“You said you received the highest mark among your fellow students, so you must’ve found the courage to overcome his treatment of you.”
“I guess I did. However, feelings of inadequacy, of not being good enough, still plague me.”
“I’ve said this before, but it can never be said enough. I have such admiration for you, Luisa—your strength, your tenacity, your drive, so many things about you.” I smiled and leaned in to kiss her. “Perhaps especially the way you stand up to me.”
“I feel safe with you, Press.”
“There is no greater honor, my darling.”
“I don’t understand people who belittle others. I’ve never understood bigotry. Who is to say a man is better than a woman or a white person is better than a black person or an Asian person? Or a Christian better or worse than a Muslim.”
“Prejudice of any kind is abhorrent. However, as I’m sure you know, hateful behavior stems more from the insecurity of the person spewing it than the person on the receiving end.”
I was happy to see Luisa’s smile finally return. “Kind of like, don’t judge the behavior; look at the motivation behind it.”
My cheeks flushed since I’d essentially just reiterated something she herself said. “Apologies. I learned that from you, didn’t I?”
She shook her head. “I smiled because the first thing that came to mind was, you are going to be a wonderful father to our children, Press.”
I blinked at the tears that flooded my eyes, hoping they wouldn’t spill onto my cheeks. Alas, I was unsuccessful. “Do you really mean that?” I whispered more than said as I brushed the dampness on my cheeks away with the back of my hand.
Luisa put her arms around me. “With all my heart.”
“I don’t think anyone has ever said anything that means more to me, my darling.”
“I mean it, Press. Not just that you’ll be an amazing dad, but if I close my eyes, I can see you and me raising our kids together.”
I put my hand on my heart and chuckled. “Who knew I was such a weeper?”
“You love so well, Press. Me especially. Your father is the same with you and Beau, and I have no doubt your mother is equally responsible, if not more so.”
“Okay, my love, you have now reduced me to an emotional wreck.”
