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“Okay. Don’t be mad with me.”
“Mad with you about what, baby?”
“Mommy. I told her you said hurry and she said she would.”
“Naaaaaah. Of course not, Aussie. I could never be mad at you about something that’s someone else’s fault, okay?”
“Okay.”
“I love you. To the moon and back, baby girl.”
“I love you, Daddy… every day.”
“Call me tomorrow.”
“Okay. I promise.”
“Later.”
“Later!” she shouted while ending the call.
Mommy came?Her words stuck with me, replaying over and over in my ear.
I told her you said hurry and she said she would.
I headed back into the kitchen. This time, it was to grab a cold cooler from the freezer. A shot of bourbon in the bottle made it the perfect addition to any day after spending it in the hot sun. Sheer habit led me to the perfect concoction in under thirty seconds. When I put it up to my mouth, I didn’t lower it until it was halfway finished and the crackling gravel sounded off.
A peek out the kitchen window and the sight of the olive G-Wagon quickened my steadied heart. I took a moment to collect myself, watching as it passed me on the way to the carport. I turned the bottle up a second time and didn’t stop gulping until it was empty.
My steps were ordered, and my destination was already chosen. I pushed forward, despite the agony I suffered, making my way out onto the porch and toward the side of the house where I found Aeir, slowly backing into the spot she’d pulled out of hours prior. Unmoving, I watched as she parked, shut off the engine, and stepped out of the truck with a bag across her body. Momentarily, she stopped and gazed in my direction, and then got to work, unloading the back where she seemed to have packed the entire store.
When I noticed the amount of bagged and unbagged items she was sitting on the ground next to the truck, I was summoned, automatically. Heaps of items piled onto the concrete before I reached Aeir’s side. She’d broken a sweat in the Berkeley heat. I could see the moistness as it layered on top of her brown skin.
“Hi,” she sighed, wiping her forehead.
From the looks of things, my card had gotten some good use. The magnetic strip had probably been discolored in the process, but I wasn’t complaining. Somehow, in some way, the idea of Aeir shopping without limits and picking up everything her head and heart desired made me feel a bit better inside.
“Is this everything you need?” I asked, wondering if there could possibly be more.
“I wish. There’s still the furniture that I need to order online. You can take this out of my first paycheck. I’ll let you know how much the furniture costs so you can do the same.”
“Insulting,” I grimaced, stringing the bags along my arm until there wasn’t any more room.
Her palm was warm and soft to the touch. She laid it on me, stopping me from moving forward as she looked into my eyes. I remained silent, taking her in. All of her. Her beauty. Her grace. Her patience. Her kindness.
“Put down your weapons, Malachi. I’m not here to war with you,” she explained, curling her fingers partially.
The world around us, the world as I knew it, evaporated. And there was nothing and there was no one but us. Her brown eyes showcased the sincerity of her heart and in her actions. She was pure, and so were they.
“It’s unfair enough that you’re at war with yourself.”
“Aeir–”
She placed an index finger on my lip and quieted me at once.
“Shhhhhhhh,” she whispered.
I felt like a fish fresh out of their natural habitat, peeled of its scales of protection, cut down the center of its body, and gutted in preparation for consumption. Naked. Uncomfortable. Yet, safe.
