“Sure it is, we’ll go at the end... Your mother loved that.” I’m taken back by his confession. “You go at the end with a gift for her and help load all the things. It’s what you do,” he says matter-of-factly. “It’s probably the last thing I did right with your mother. But I know it’s a good thing to do… and I want to help you.”
My body’s frozen in place as Arianna walks toward me, one hand rubbing soothing circles over her swollen bump and the other bracing a hand on her back.
“Sure,” I answer my father. The vision of what he must’ve looked like back then plays in my mind. Maybe they were happy then, all those years ago.
“It’s settled then. I’m sure I’ll see you before then?” The words come out as a question.
“Sure,” I say again, wrapping an arm around Arianna’s waist as she leans into me, her eyes wide with questions, but her body relaxed.
“Very well then, I’ll talk to you soon.” There’s a silence between us for a moment, and for the first time in years, I feel the urge to tell him I love him. As though it’s real, but I don’t. Maybe another time. The line goes dead, and I pull the phone away from my ear to stare at it in my hand.
“Are you alright?” she asks and her voice is soft, tinged with concern.
I toss the phone down onto the sofa a few feet away and turn her in my arms. Her belly rubs against mine as I pull her in close. “Of course.”
She eyes me warily, her one eyebrow lifting with skepticism.
“Everything is wonderful.”
That sweet smile plays at her lips again and she nods as she says, “It is, isn’t it?”
I kiss her lips softly, but she deepens it. My greedy sweetheart. I’m more than happy to give her more. I’d hand her over the world in exchange for what she’s given me.
When she breaks the kiss, I whisper between us, “I love you.”
“I love you too, Zander.”