I decided that Dante’s love was what I needed in my life. The gentle, unassuming kind of love that lifts you up like the wind and allows you to take flight. It was a liberating kind of love, and except for a few silly bouts of reminiscence and nostalgia, I loved him. I loved Dante.
“I love you. Oh, Oh, I love you!” I shouted. Those words. Of all the words we’d said tonight, those were the ones that made him come. He released himself inside me and collapsed into my arms. The laptop fell on the floor and papers were strewn all over the place.
I tenderly skimmed my fingers along the ridge of his back as he tried to catch his breath. “Did we maybe make a baby? Can we try and try and try?” he asked.
“Are you really going to retire?” I teased back.
“Oh yeah, as soon as you get pregnant, I’ll be your house slave,” he chuckled. “Baby, you just made me the happiest man on earth.”
“Dork.” I slapped his butt. “Let’s go to bed before Mikey realizes that the noises he just heard weren’t in a dream he was having.”
“WHAT TIME DO you have to leave today?” Dante asked.
We were whispering under the covers as dawn gloriously settled over Manhattan. The tinted windows that shaded us from the glare of the rising sun were the same ones that opened us up to the beauty of the city. There we were in the aftermath of our lovemaking and proclamations of love and promises of a forever.
“I’ll head out at noon so I can drop Mikey off at school on my way there. I’m on the night shift for seven days straight,” I answered, as we both focused our attention on the suitcase that laid open on the floor next to the dresser. “I’ll try to be home two weeks from today.”
“I’ll miss you.” He lovingly caressed my face as I wrapped my arms around his waist.
“I’ll miss you too,” I answered, lifting my head up and pinching his nose with my fingers.
“You know, these living arrangements will have to change eventually,” he said. “Let me be the one to commute. I can set up an office there. These two weekends a month aren’t exactly the best way to start a marriage.”
“And what? Leave all this?” I made a sweeping motion with my arm.
He scrunched up his nose and made a face at me. Truth be told, I enjoyed my independence. Those nights away at the hospital were the nights when I allowed myself to miss my mom, to mourn, to cry over what could never have been. Baltimore was far enough from New York to give me the space I needed. He was smart enough to know that. He was also smart enough to drop it for now. “Let’s rethink it once you start a new rotation,” he concluded.
“Okay,” I agreed. “And don’t stress out too much about work! If you don’t get the deal, you don’t get the deal. You’ll still be okay. We have enough, Leola.”
“Okay, boss!” he said with a chuckle. He flipped me up from under the blanket and tossed my body on top of his.
I let out a giggle as I ran my hands along his sides, trying my best to tickle his ribs.
“You really want to do that?” he warned, before throwing me on my back, locking my arms above my head. He started to rub his chin against my neck.
“No! No! Uncle! I didn’t mean to do that! Stop!” I squealed. I kicked and screamed until he released my arms. I grabbed a pillow and threw it at him. Something fell out of it, landed on his head, and fell right on top of my face. The laughing stopped immediately when he lightly brushed my cheek and held up the culprit.
“What’s this?” he asked, looking at the object. It was the wooden rosary from a time long ago and a place far away, its tiny beads now old and worn. The knotted rope that held them together, frayed and thinned out by the years. “Is this the same one you got in Thailand?”
“Yup.” Try to remain cool. You are only as guilty as you look.
“What’s it doing in our bed?
“It must have fallen out of the pillow.”
“Pillow? Do you sleep with it every
“I love you. Oh, Oh, I love you!” I shouted. Those words. Of all the words we’d said tonight, those were the ones that made him come. He released himself inside me and collapsed into my arms. The laptop fell on the floor and papers were strewn all over the place.
I tenderly skimmed my fingers along the ridge of his back as he tried to catch his breath. “Did we maybe make a baby? Can we try and try and try?” he asked.
“Are you really going to retire?” I teased back.
“Oh yeah, as soon as you get pregnant, I’ll be your house slave,” he chuckled. “Baby, you just made me the happiest man on earth.”
“Dork.” I slapped his butt. “Let’s go to bed before Mikey realizes that the noises he just heard weren’t in a dream he was having.”
“WHAT TIME DO you have to leave today?” Dante asked.
We were whispering under the covers as dawn gloriously settled over Manhattan. The tinted windows that shaded us from the glare of the rising sun were the same ones that opened us up to the beauty of the city. There we were in the aftermath of our lovemaking and proclamations of love and promises of a forever.
“I’ll head out at noon so I can drop Mikey off at school on my way there. I’m on the night shift for seven days straight,” I answered, as we both focused our attention on the suitcase that laid open on the floor next to the dresser. “I’ll try to be home two weeks from today.”
“I’ll miss you.” He lovingly caressed my face as I wrapped my arms around his waist.
“I’ll miss you too,” I answered, lifting my head up and pinching his nose with my fingers.
“You know, these living arrangements will have to change eventually,” he said. “Let me be the one to commute. I can set up an office there. These two weekends a month aren’t exactly the best way to start a marriage.”
“And what? Leave all this?” I made a sweeping motion with my arm.
He scrunched up his nose and made a face at me. Truth be told, I enjoyed my independence. Those nights away at the hospital were the nights when I allowed myself to miss my mom, to mourn, to cry over what could never have been. Baltimore was far enough from New York to give me the space I needed. He was smart enough to know that. He was also smart enough to drop it for now. “Let’s rethink it once you start a new rotation,” he concluded.
“Okay,” I agreed. “And don’t stress out too much about work! If you don’t get the deal, you don’t get the deal. You’ll still be okay. We have enough, Leola.”
“Okay, boss!” he said with a chuckle. He flipped me up from under the blanket and tossed my body on top of his.
I let out a giggle as I ran my hands along his sides, trying my best to tickle his ribs.
“You really want to do that?” he warned, before throwing me on my back, locking my arms above my head. He started to rub his chin against my neck.
“No! No! Uncle! I didn’t mean to do that! Stop!” I squealed. I kicked and screamed until he released my arms. I grabbed a pillow and threw it at him. Something fell out of it, landed on his head, and fell right on top of my face. The laughing stopped immediately when he lightly brushed my cheek and held up the culprit.
“What’s this?” he asked, looking at the object. It was the wooden rosary from a time long ago and a place far away, its tiny beads now old and worn. The knotted rope that held them together, frayed and thinned out by the years. “Is this the same one you got in Thailand?”
“Yup.” Try to remain cool. You are only as guilty as you look.
“What’s it doing in our bed?
“It must have fallen out of the pillow.”
“Pillow? Do you sleep with it every
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