She’d been handling the death of her father as well as expected. At times, I would catch her crying. Sometimes I would comfort her, and other times I would give her space. I continued to be whatever she needed me to be.
Her mother wanted to have a family dinner, and it would be the first time we would all be together since the funeral. I looked forward to it, because we always had a good time.
“How are you feeling?” I asked River as we drove to her mother’s house.
“Good, but a little nervous. I know dinner won’t be the same without Daddy being there.”
I reached over and softly rubbed her leg. I had the same thought she had, but I didn’t say anything. She had been in a good mood the whole day, and I wanted to keep it that way.
“I understand that. He may not be there physically, but he will always be wherever you are in spirit.”
She smiled when I glanced her way.
“I swear, you always know what to say. Is it the age difference?”
“Don’t act like I’m that much older than you, girl. It’s only four years.”
River’s laughter drowned out the music playing on the radio. I cut my eyes at her, and she laughed even louder.
“It’s still a difference. But you also have had more experience in life than me.”
“Nah, don’t try to clean it up now.” I pinched her leg.
She smacked my arm and laughed again. “That hurt.” She quieted down and shifted her body toward me. “For real, though, thank you for everything. I probably said it before, but I really appreciate you. You always know what I need without me having to tell you. It goes to show you pay attention to me.” She leaned over the console and kissed my cheek.
“I appreciate you as well, River. Even on the days when you are down, you still make time to check on me.”
River had become a safe space for me, and I would never forget that. It was one of the biggest qualities I wanted in a woman. My life was pretty good, and work wasn’t bad, but I likedbeing able to talk to her to decompress. Being a successful black man in this country was hard, so having a partner who had your back was special to me.
“You went through the same thing I did with losing my dad, so of course I want to make sure you are good. We have to look out for each other.”
“Always. Have you started back up with your Spanish lessons?”
I noticed that since everything happened with Pops, she hadn’t been doing her lessons. I knew it was important to be there for him, and even harder to lose him, but I didn’t want her to lose herself in the process.
“Slowly but surely.”
“Tell me something then.”
“Eres muy guapo.”
We pulled up to her mom’s house, and I parked on the street since there were already cars in the driveway. From the looks of it, we were the last ones to arrive.
“What that mean?” I asked as I shut off the car.
River undid her seat belt and leaned the top half of her body over the console.
I unclicked my seat belt and faced her. I licked my lips as she stared into my eyes. Her mouth was so close to mine, so I gave her a quick peck.
“It means you are very handsome.” Her round lips curled into a beautiful ass smile.
“Thank you.” I kissed her again. “Me encanta tu sonrisa.”
Her eyes widened at my response. “Hold on, you knew Spanish this whole time? And what does that mean?”
I chuckled at the expression on her face. She squinted her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest.
“Un poco.” I held my thumb and ring finger to say a little. “And it means, I love your smile.”
