Page 31

Twenty-Two

Poppy

I can’t function, so I keep rubbing the spot where my wedding ring sat until literally a week ago. Now it’s in a drawer at my tiny house. The dent soothes me a bit.

“Call an Uber,” he says in a stern, clipped voice. I’m still trembling and he’s pulling me down a narrow street. I’m tucked into the side of the safest place in my world, but I can’t stop shaking. I should feel ok, he killed a guy to protect us. Now, we’re on the street in a nice part of town, and he’s dispatching orders. I’m only now realizing they’re at me.

“What?” I ask, not registering anything, but I keep walking. I focus on my steps.

He reaches into my back pocket and unearths my phone. “Code?” He demands and I’m on autopilot as we walk down Coliseum Street in what I think is the Garden District neighborhood. We’re not in a dark sinister place, we’re where the rich people live. It’s bright and beautiful here. I’m hungover, in shock, in last night’s outfit topped with Sal’s t-shirt and looking awful. I adjust the huge shirt and try to not look kidnapped.

He scowls at me as we casually walk down the street towards a brightly lit café. My heart tugs as I remember mine but that was a life ago, specifically his.

I hit his arm again. “You made me sell my cafe!”

“You did that on your own. You went off the rails all by yourself. Shame too. Love that little joint.” I hit him again, and he keeps walking.

Apparently, I’m this person now with a dead man holding a gun standing by my side. I guess I always kind of was this person, but it’s more blatant now. His hand on my back maneuvers me to the Chicory House and I open the door. Then he grits his teeth and says, “Code.”

My wits return to me in a rush as he kisses me lightly.

“You ok?” I nod. “Good. Phone code please.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really, give me the code, Gingersnap.”

“Cannoli.”

His body shakes and then his big bear laugh erupts from my giant of a man. “Still? Your phone code is your dumb ass name for my dick?”

“I was sad,” I defend.

“And you only missed my cock?” He scoops me to him, he kisses me possessively, and I revel in it. I grab the back of his hair, and then I feel him rub against me. His dick missed me, too. Oddly, it calms me down. I stop trembling as his dark eyes settle my entire being, reminding me he’s alive. “Stop making me hard, beautiful.” I grin.

“It made me laugh at how much you hate it,” I say to him.

“It’s a little on the nose, don’t you think?”

“Thick cream in the middle, fat and delicious. I think it’s a perfect name.”

“And dipped in nuts,” he says and winks at me.

I smash my hand to his heart. “While I was mourning the loss of my beloved husband, I needed any smile I could get.”

He encircles me and we embrace inside of the café as it starts to fill up. He leans down and says, “Tell me, I need to hear it, gorgeous.” His voice is urgent and desperate and reflects exactly how I feel.

Tears well in my eyes and give voice to words I never thought I’d say again, “I love you.”

“Ah. Now, I’m a whole man again. I love you so fucking much. I came back from the dead for you.” His lips brush over mine and I feel the weight of this kiss. I feel his breath put life and color back in my world.

“Jesus, I’m codependent.” I lean up and kiss him and it feels like the first time, ironically, in a café. Another stolen moment from a time before I knew the weight of the world lives directly on the shoulders of the giant man kissing me sweetly.

“Can I get you a table, or do you want to order here at the counter?” We break apart and Sal turns to the server.

“Can we get a couple of coffees to go and do you have a breakfast sandwich thing?”

“Our overnight oats are excellent.”