Best,
Livie Armas
“Wow,” Zolt said in my ear before pressing a kiss toit. “From what I see, that’s a good report.”
I clicked on the file to see that she had given me‘exemplary’on every section.
Things were back on the up.
“I did it!” I cried, turning to him with a breathless smile. “I mean, I’m doing it.”
“Why did you ever doubt yourself, silly?”
“I don’t… I just did. I just… wow. I’m doing it, Zoltán. I’m a translator.”
“You still don’t look like one,” he joked, cocking his head to the side to look me over. “More like a supermodel.”
I slapped his arm lightly and cuddled back into him.“I’m doing it.”
“Of course you are,” he laughed and stroked my hair with his free hand. “If I have to fuck the confidence back into you once this is off me, I will, Fia.”
I curled back up in his lap, and he started to rock us again, kissing my hair.
I read through the thorough report. Livie had almost written an essay for each of the seven sections. The likelihood was that by the time of my second and final report, she would have just had her baby, so she’d told me she was planning on reusing a lot of this one.
With what she’d put, I was definitely okay with that.
Once I’d read it and watched the clips — the entire press conference, a montage of moments from interviews — I locked my phone and was almost drifting to sleep when Zolt spoke.
“Fia,” he said softly into my ear, the vibration of his words flowing through my cheek. “I love you, you know.”
I stilled, the soothing rocking anchoring me in his safe hold.Slowly, I looked up at him, feeling the tears brimming.
I did know. There hadn’t been a sudden change at any point. But he also hadn’t loved me since our first meeting — it had grown, but the warm buzz deep within my soul whenever he was around, the smile I found so easily around him, the way I sought him out in every room… he was mine as much as I was his.
The bang at the door jolted us out of our euphoria.
“That’ll be the nurse,” he said, lifting his arm with the drip. “Sooner she gets this off me, sooner I get to work on your confidence.”
I laughed and went downstairs. With every step, my head chanted ‘Zolt loves me,’trying to let it sink in.Helovedme. This would undoubtedly cause us more problems, because I explicitly knew, now that I’d heard the words… I wasn’t going to be able to let this go.
But I was going to live in the dappled sunlight in the humid forest of our love until the very last second. We were growing at such a steady rate, I wanted to stay in our cocoon forever and blossom when we were unshakable.
Even if he already thought he was my boyfriend.
My boyfriend loves me.
Vincent raced me down the stairs. He was the youngest of the pack, the biggest baby, and my new shadow. Or as Zolt liked to call him, a‘Mummy’s boy.’
He beat me to the door, more excitable than I expected, but we were yet to walk them.
I tried to guide him away from the door. “Mummy will walk you as soon as the rain stops—”
But it wasn’t the nurse on Zoltán’s porch.
It was Imre and Zolt’smother.
And that dappled sunlight faded by a threatening storm cloud overhead.
