I stared at him under hooded eyes. My heart beat, once at a near still, began to pick up. There was a storm raging on my insides, yet this was the calmest I’d felt in a long time. Was this the peace that was supposed to come with a decision I could never go back from?
I stared even harder.
I didn’t know what I hoped to find as I bored into his eyes like there were mirrors to my heart. Like behind his brown pools were the answers to my deepest, darkest questions.
I searched for a shred of doubt. Like the look on his face would seal the deal. The uncertainty on my face was met with a smile. A smile that had become the bane of my existence, yet the very essence of my being.
“What’s going on in that pretty mind of yours?” His voice washed over me like melted butter. Like the fluffiest cat had found me a befitting couch for her soft fur.
“Why do you think I’m thinking of anything?” Willing my lips to stretch into a smile would be inaccurate because I’d smile even if he said zombies had invaded the city.
“I don’t know. But just to answer any questions you may have, yes, I’d love you even if you were a worm. If you had not been born, I wouldn’t be born too because what’s the essence of life when you’re not in it, and no, there is no one on earth, man or woman, whose beauty rivals yours.”
I preened and smacked him on the shoulder. “You’re effortlessly silly. Seek help.” I tried so hard not to show the burst of emotion that overwhelmed me listening to his words.
If it wasn’t any clearer to my uncertain heart, I’d found my person. There was no doubt in my heart.
It utterly befuddled me, how one person could be my everything in the span of months. And no, I didn’t question my existence, no I didn’t have to alter my principles, and I most certainly didn’t find a new path in life by his entrance into mine.
Instead, it was a confirmation of everything I knew and more. The world was brighter, my path, clearer, and my reason to hope, believe and live, stronger. My smile gained a genuineness I didn’t know was lacking. My femininity unfolded like pretty blossoms that had finally found reason to unfurl her pretty petals.
And now, as I looked into his eyes that promised the very world and more, I knew the moment had finally come.
“I’m still waiting, babe. Any more questions you need answered?” His voice brought me back, and I smiled because he smiled. He was always smiling at me, and somehow, the very queen of tightened lips became the empress of quiet smiles as well as nearly raucous cackles.
Songs from our carefully curated playlist filtered sweetly from the speakers of our intentionally dimly lit room. The air conditioner blasted softly, giving the entire atmosphere the cool touch that was needed for what was to come. The ambience was perfect. The man in front of me even more so. It was the ideal time.
“I’m ready,” I said softly. Quietly.
Confusion scrunched his eyebrows only for a millisecond before understanding dawned. His eyes widened, and a look of adoration, longing and gratitude all rolled into one broke through his features.
As the formerly soft music got louder, love in words and action reverberated through the walls. Home, at last!
Image is AI-generated.
