“I’m happy that you discovered something you like doing,” he says with a smile.
“I know a week is a short time to get to know a job, and I haven’t done much besides sanding or carving patterns into leftover pieces of wood, but I found myself looking forward to going to work every day, and that’s how I chose.”
“The gut knows,” Hawk says with a nod.
“So… Raven. Why that road name?” He asks when our overeager waitress finally leaves.
“It was a couple of things,” I say. “I have raven black hair, as your song says.”
“Your song, you mean,” he replies playfully, and we share a look. “And the other thing?” He asks after a while.
I look away while I reply, “I wanted us both to be birds.”
Hawk’s rough, warm palm covers my hand, and I turn it over so our palms can kiss.
“I love it. It suits you better than jay.”
I grin. “Thank you.”
“Do ravens mate for life?”
“I don’t know, actually. We need to look that up.”
“I know hawks do,” he tells me pointedly.
“Good to know,” I say with a small smile, then clear my throat. “I have a gift for you,” I tell him.
“Oh?” Hawk looks intrigued.
“I hope you’ll like it.”
I sit on my hands as he slowly unpacks the patch I embroidered for him. He stares at it for a long time without saying anything.
“It’s a hawk,” I explain nervously, and he huffs a little laugh.
“I can see that. What I’m trying to figure out is how you managed to give it so much dignity and character, not to mention this hyper-realistic look.”
I’m not gonna cry. I’m not.
I sniff. “So you like it?”
“Marissa, baby,” he says as he stands up and pulls me up and into a hug. “I love it. It’s the best and most thoughtful gift I’ve ever received. Thank you so much. We’re putting this on my cut first thing in the morning.”
When we return to our chairs, Hawk looks at me expectantly. “Can I give you your gift now? I didn’t want to do it at the party.”
Inside the box, there are tubes and papers and a… funnel? I scan the papers with a frown.
Ancestry kit
Saliva
DNA
“What is this?” I finally ask.
“There’s this company that you send some of your saliva to, and they test your DNA, and sometimes they’re able to find your relatives or tell you more about your ancestry.”
Hawk suddenly looks very blurry.
