“Exactly.”
The smile that Delaney shone on me was worth all the gold in the world. My heart throbbed strong in my chest, and I wanted to give her the world. How was it so difficult to be satisfied with one beautiful woman who made your heart sing? How did he waste all his years keeping her on hold? Instead, he chose to hurt and use her rather than be free to be with someone he truly wanted and allowed her to be free too.
It didn’t make sense to me, but I was determined not to let her past with him ruin our future. I was also determined to put her first in my life, not making the mistakes that I made with Tracy.
My family would always be important to me and be a priority in my life, but I wouldn’t make them more important than my woman—at least not more important than Delaney. That was the truth behind my ex-girlfriend, Tracy and me. I had no intentionsof getting serious with her, but I had a difficult time admitting that to her or myself.
I was faithful to her, but I couldn’t see myself marrying her and building a family with her. She had too many ways that I didn’t care for, and she felt the same about me. We spent more of our relationship trying to change one another rather than accepting who we were and what we had in one another. Somehow with Delaney, I knew she was made for me. There wasn’t anything I wanted to change about her.
We had been driving for thirty minutes and had been listening to the engine, letting the wind blow through the open windows, and enjoying the ride. Twenty minutes into the ride, Delaney decided to check out the stereo system, and she was impressed that it and the clock still worked.
We had just come on Atlantic Highway when she turned off the stereo and lay her head against the headrest.
“This is so calm and relaxing. I enjoy the simple things in life.”
“And yet, you’re worthy of all the finer things.”
I reached over and grabbed Delaney’s hand and wove my fingers through hers. Lifting our hands to my lips, I gave her fingers a light kiss. When I looked at her, she was smiling at me with so much love and adoration in her eyes.
“What?” I asked.
“Nothing. Just admiring how you care for me.”
“Always, girl.”
“I’m proud of you.”
“For?”
“Finishing the project that you started with your dad. I know that wasn’t an easy task. You told me you all were close to finishing it, but I didn’t expect you to be finished this fast.”
“It wasn’t easy. That night after we discussed it, I thought about it constantly for the next two days. The night before Istarted working on it again, I prayed about it. That night I dreamt of my father. It was a memory, really. We were talking about the first place that we would take this baby when we finished her.
“The next morning, I woke up with tears in my eyes. My head was all kinds of fucked up about that dream. I wasn’t ready to face the day. Trying to go back to sleep didn’t work, so I finally got up, went to the garage, and started working on her. Every spare minute that I’ve had when I’m not with you, that’s what I’ve been doing, working on her.”
“That’s what this is then,” she stated, waving her hand out of the open window as the cool spring breeze continued washing over us.
“What do you mean?”
“The drive on Atlantic Highway and heading to Scenic Bluff. That’s what he wanted to do, isn’t it?”
My jaw clenched, and I gave a brisk nod.
This time she lifted our hands and kissed my fingers. “I’m sure your dad would be proud of you. You’re honoring him in all the best ways, Naijhel. Fighting for the rights of domestic abuse survivors, carrying on his love of restoring classic cars, and going to the place that he loved.”
“Yeah, I guess. In a couple of weeks, I plan to start the one you bought me.”
“I can’t wait to see it in progress and finished,” she stated.
I pulled off the highway and took the steep hill up to Scenic Bluff. We climbed out of the car, and I watched her as the wind whipped her hair around. She was so beautiful in the sun’s rays, as if she were an angel from Heaven herself.
I popped the trunk of the car and removed an item. Delaney stared curiously at me from the front of the car. My heart thundered in my chest, wondering if this was the right time. I knew it was the right place because it was what he wanted. I alsoknew when he wanted it, but again, I wasn’t sure if she needed to be here, or if she would even be comfortable with what I was about to do.
“What?” she asked, coming to join me where I still stood at the trunk of the car.
I licked my lips, trying to find the right words. My throat was clogged, and I was speechless for a few moments. When she arrived by my side, Delaney looked at my hands and then back at me.
“Naijhel, . . . is that your dad’s ashes?”
