I can't take my eye off of her hand.540Please respect copyright.PENANARBW3aebmuf
We're back at the bar where we first met, each with a bottle of ginger ale.540Please respect copyright.PENANAcppEuraaB0
The ring... it fits her finger perfectly. Its as if her finger was destined to wear that ring as a symbol that she is mine, and I am hers. Forever.540Please respect copyright.PENANAqZvG0bwbaf
"Caleb, if you could get a pet, what would it bue?" she asks.540Please respect copyright.PENANA4ljJzQ23YF
"A parrot," I reply almost immediately.540Please respect copyright.PENANAWBLOJDEDFa
She smiles. 540Please respect copyright.PENANAXnODgIET50
540Please respect copyright.PENANAsJQ7cmghX9
540Please respect copyright.PENANA8NCuQ24NVH
"Me, too."540Please respect copyright.PENANAfiUP1EZWoI
540Please respect copyright.PENANA4Sk4Umsf8m
540Please respect copyright.PENANAU3oJaVgHtt
"Why?" I ask her.540Please respect copyright.PENANAhrVVrDqca0
540Please respect copyright.PENANAPrBFqzYUy7
540Please respect copyright.PENANA8hpMsPciY1
"They're loving and they live long."540Please respect copyright.PENANA8jDdGa2xS5
540Please respect copyright.PENANAhRgNz0Lh09
540Please respect copyright.PENANAzGt1v3ADLS
540Please respect copyright.PENANAstnd9Ptab5
540Please respect copyright.PENANADuqBYebBPj
"That's my reason, too," I grin.540Please respect copyright.PENANAZA0f1zdv1R
I have a love for animals, and I know how hard it is for an owner to watch their pet die; I don't want to go through that. 540Please respect copyright.PENANAxKmH8Qi6mp
At my age, if I get a young Macaw or African Grey, it would probably outlive me. Problem solved.540Please respect copyright.PENANAHtBmXTJzmO
"What's your favourite type of parrot?" I ask her.540Please respect copyright.PENANA3I9XKa72fY
"Military Macaw," she responds with a giggle. "It's probably because I've watched 'Rio'so many times."540Please respect copyright.PENANAR7Cysvd0h1
I smile at her.540Please respect copyright.PENANApuW4esTuVn
"They can also be very aggressive," I mutter to her, wincing as I recall a Blue Macaw tearing its beak into Eli's flesh.540Please respect copyright.PENANAkjcvgHP9DF
That wasn't fun.540Please respect copyright.PENANAL4HkgWWtf1
"True," she mutters.540Please respect copyright.PENANAb9gzd6S0NZ
I look at her for a few seconds.540Please respect copyright.PENANAhy6RzH4wDq
"You want one."540Please respect copyright.PENANAIU8l8ke7x4
She looks back at me.540Please respect copyright.PENANAQmmrnNwbTa
"Yeah, I've been thinking about it," she says with a smile.540Please respect copyright.PENANAxJzDzeXx46
"Well, lets do it then," I say to her.540Please respect copyright.PENANA69izvY9W8l
"Really?"540Please respect copyright.PENANAb3HDBVUz0S
"Really."540Please respect copyright.PENANArkwmuK2uqQ
She awards me with one of those heart melting smiles again.540Please respect copyright.PENANAKS1JTrhLst
"I hope you can teach me how to take care of it, because when it comes to that shit, I suck."540Please respect copyright.PENANAxb1WvtDnLG
"Of course," I retort, smiling to myself.540Please respect copyright.PENANABfxWwu3BXt
"Do you know where to get one?"540Please respect copyright.PENANA1HPQ4NmeBv
"I can find out," I reply.540Please respect copyright.PENANAoXzAwAhshb
She looks down at her ring finger, and smiles, then looking up at me.540Please respect copyright.PENANAA4G0d0uK6t
"So, when are we gonna do this?"540Please respect copyright.PENANAbKRZeXod9Q
"Huh?"540Please respect copyright.PENANAJzADXM8jlJ
"Get married," she clarifies.540Please respect copyright.PENANAHXqlA1Ox3Z
I hadn't even thought about the wedding yet, to be honest.540Please respect copyright.PENANAXBNUxH6RQC
"I don't know. When do you want to do it?"540Please respect copyright.PENANAfMTMGRhJPt
"July," she mumbles, but I know that she wants to say more.540Please respect copyright.PENANAxabDo5N0E7
"What is it?" I ask.540Please respect copyright.PENANATL4CxQC4IA
She chews her lip, and then exhales. 540Please respect copyright.PENANAzaUqOpGFgv
"I want to get married in Jamaica."540Please respect copyright.PENANAUWYycHl5o0
I hadn't even thought about that, but the truth is that it would be fantastic; I've never been to Jamaica, never seen her family, her childhood friends, looked into that part of her life.540Please respect copyright.PENANASWv4QyE3G6
"Never mind—"540Please respect copyright.PENANAGSyFODxylK
"That would be amazing," I breathe.540Please respect copyright.PENANAFEdIWrNBel
"Really?" she asks, a huge smile spreading over her face.540Please respect copyright.PENANArCnX0RiJu3
"Yes! I'd love to see that part of your life."540Please respect copyright.PENANARViGpk85mW
She reaches over and hugs me.540Please respect copyright.PENANAS7boKgKAbu
"Thank you," she whispers.540Please respect copyright.PENANAibhESn2tFA
"You're very welcome, Eve."540Please respect copyright.PENANAMwEhG7nPpi
***540Please respect copyright.PENANAAn8cZxebBT
We got a female Military Macaw; she's one year old, and Evetta named her "Jade", because of the colour of her body.540Please respect copyright.PENANAzXsf95HYgj
Right now, she's scratching the bird's head, and it's leaning into her hand. I don't know why this looks so beautiful to me; then again, everything she does looks beautiful to me.540Please respect copyright.PENANAA8hvAIGTeP
She looks over at me, and her brow furrows.540Please respect copyright.PENANAzpKjXsEzh9
"What?" she asks.540Please respect copyright.PENANA6voSGO93O2
"Nothing. It's just that... you're really beautiful."540Please respect copyright.PENANADiRCCvbpoB
She smiles at me; sometimes, I wonder if she knows what that smile does to me.540Please respect copyright.PENANAyvfM3DND8u
"Same," she replies.540Please respect copyright.PENANAAxsjkEZdXf
I move over to her, and rest my head on her shoulder. She leans her head on my head.540Please respect copyright.PENANAEV9xXjPCeW
Recently, I've been thinking about... everything; bout me being in a coma for over a year, about how I did remember her when I woke up, or for the weeks that followed, about the fact that she could have just gotten up and left my ass.540Please respect copyright.PENANArSQKO2jMWk
But Evetta stayed.540Please respect copyright.PENANAaY8Yfil6sb
And for that, I will forever be grateful.540Please respect copyright.PENANAjzLBcFh9aE
"Thank you," I mumble into her neck, and she pulls back and gives me a questioning look.540Please respect copyright.PENANAeowVUsAmXv
"For what?" she asks, looking and sounding puzzled.540Please respect copyright.PENANAGh2VTjGyov
540Please respect copyright.PENANAsBgQfpn1MS
540Please respect copyright.PENANApr8Iy73dkP
"For not leaving," I clarify.540Please respect copyright.PENANAi5LgsbqXxE
540Please respect copyright.PENANAvddsdt4Vf4
540Please respect copyright.PENANAEogLrrtZaK
She looks straight into my eyes, then drops her gazes and sighs.540Please respect copyright.PENANAGkacd3f4yx
540Please respect copyright.PENANAtyAzOkEvoY
540Please respect copyright.PENANAWM1GrSSPoN
"I love you more than you could ever know," she whispers.540Please respect copyright.PENANAuDwbSLJO33
540Please respect copyright.PENANALVfzzwKZM8
540Please respect copyright.PENANApKZ1qIal1T
"If it's anywhere near as much as I love you, " I start, tilting her head up so that she will look at me.540Please respect copyright.PENANAjCLPWXVIKR
540Please respect copyright.PENANAUjayXryhAs
540Please respect copyright.PENANAax0chxvogj
"—then I think I have a pretty good idea," I finish.540Please respect copyright.PENANAzUKpFMnwHU
540Please respect copyright.PENANAGPHj6P4mUj
540Please respect copyright.PENANAJ10L8lJt7V
I kiss her, and she moans into my mouth, not expecting it.540Please respect copyright.PENANAEqqkkbmG3X
540Please respect copyright.PENANAND8fGaRVwF
540Please respect copyright.PENANA3AmYsqjTWp
"Don't do that," I grunt, pulling away from her.540Please respect copyright.PENANA59BWJzcV19
540Please respect copyright.PENANAyQAZcoEdI0
540Please respect copyright.PENANA1DPfY5Fim7
"Sorry," she says, not sounding sorry at all. The bird which is on her lap gives a loud shriek, as if trying to revert the attention back onto herself.540Please respect copyright.PENANATIV79xqGel
540Please respect copyright.PENANAhhs20QwDP6
540Please respect copyright.PENANA5rb6saAChK
"I think Jade is jealous," Evetta says with a chuckle.540Please respect copyright.PENANAC8uquCdVD7
540Please respect copyright.PENANARuZSW2d2fA
540Please respect copyright.PENANASLR2smOaVK
"Well, shell just have to learn to live with it," I reply seriously.540Please respect copyright.PENANAzbPEBI3vYd
540Please respect copyright.PENANApirkCWEx2U
540Please respect copyright.PENANAudOk2YWFfg
She laughs, probably not realising just how serious I am. There is no way that I'm going to allow a damn bird to get between us.540Please respect copyright.PENANAJ6orXEHiqY
540Please respect copyright.PENANApj5EO2OA02
540Please respect copyright.PENANAwgV1lH2jxF
"So... about that wedding," I start.540Please respect copyright.PENANAT6YdPlDjoM
540Please respect copyright.PENANA1z47FydCsk
540Please respect copyright.PENANAst9l8enb9z
"I was thinking we should have it at my mother's house," she replies.540Please respect copyright.PENANAJWLRFsFvJb
540Please respect copyright.PENANA62crMmECX1
540Please respect copyright.PENANARrWgV56yoc
"Really?" 540Please respect copyright.PENANAAEOIxD5ShS
540Please respect copyright.PENANAsVwFodBFIw
540Please respect copyright.PENANAJMrHBUYpF3
"Yeah. Not like I want many people there, anyway," she states.540Please respect copyright.PENANANzPgqFGEfo
540Please respect copyright.PENANAKCvr7y5fT7
540Please respect copyright.PENANAR7r5X0b1Dj
"Who would be there?"540Please respect copyright.PENANA8B9h9OPRAT
540Please respect copyright.PENANAv0JYfCqqc6
540Please respect copyright.PENANA0ifD0QcIiD
"My friends and close family," she says, putting emphasis on the word 'close' and bringing back some embarrassing memories. I just hope that Evetta doesn't use her borderline mindreading powers on me and bring it up.540Please respect copyright.PENANATuYzEbMYqB
540Please respect copyright.PENANAY1bfInXx2V
540Please respect copyright.PENANAqUuTYUUZ4K
"Thinking 'bout Uncle George?" Evetta asks with a grin, causing my cheeks to redden. I will never forget the day that my mother's brother showed up at our house drunk and unannounced, and asked for a place to stay. Of course Evetta was staying there, and of course, he had to say something when he saw her.540Please respect copyright.PENANAxEyEYvEjkL
540Please respect copyright.PENANAvmpiN4Ojvi
540Please respect copyright.PENANAjMhgTq0GDD
"So Caleb, I never knew that you were into the darkies. I mean, they're good to shag, but not to keep."540Please respect copyright.PENANASnhGQ6QlzT
540Please respect copyright.PENANAQKcXZNxHnV
540Please respect copyright.PENANA4N767aCJqh
Now, most people would get upset, right? But Evetta... Evetta just started laughing. She laughed so hard that she had to bend over and clutch her stomach.540Please respect copyright.PENANAknijXXDV51
540Please respect copyright.PENANA9NIVKv9jF4
540Please respect copyright.PENANAyIOAkUsbx3
"What is it, girlie?" he asks.540Please respect copyright.PENANAJmicNxofkQ
540Please respect copyright.PENANAAXrQF0NIYl
540Please respect copyright.PENANA7Rj2iVwnLn
"You're a drunk, you smell like piss, you've probably never had a girlfriend, I doubt you've had sex with anyone who wasn't paid or on drugs in the past year... and you're giving relationship advice? You're like those catholic priests who tell people not to use condoms."540Please respect copyright.PENANAXkgGiK5uAO
540Please respect copyright.PENANA86xgImqwnW
540Please respect copyright.PENANAm76gUll5ki
Needless to say Uncle George wasn't too pleased. He was even angrier when my parents kicked him out.540Please respect copyright.PENANAI2hB5yYwz7
540Please respect copyright.PENANAzGgJ7GchV2
540Please respect copyright.PENANAAxiXaUnfH3
"Caleb, sometimes your mouth is really too big," he said.540Please respect copyright.PENANAIiHXXRv6mZ
540Please respect copyright.PENANAPlkQTma4jT
540Please respect copyright.PENANAyqKwY91O5C
"You don't have to do—"540Please respect copyright.PENANAqubGeJ2Z23
540Please respect copyright.PENANAJaXZNnLtkp
540Please respect copyright.PENANA2iXl9XhACC
"Evetta, its fine," my mother reassured her.540Please respect copyright.PENANAHM121vTmBa
540Please respect copyright.PENANAEw2S9NwTxV
540Please respect copyright.PENANAsLsiUOQHJl
So with that, Uncle George was exiled.540Please respect copyright.PENANATSbV7zlQ6K
540Please respect copyright.PENANAqSQTfLAM21
540Please respect copyright.PENANAmzeYhnVp23
"Please don't bring him up," I say to her.540Please respect copyright.PENANAi1HcrWEzpx
540Please respect copyright.PENANAZbYuT7h37I
540Please respect copyright.PENANAaqgsHl9IAg
"She giggles, and puts her head against my chest.540Please respect copyright.PENANAQwpizI2GZ7
540Please respect copyright.PENANAfWVylCLUtY
540Please respect copyright.PENANAyMMpwcn2rX
"This is going to be amazing," she says, cuddling up to me with a huge smile on her face.540Please respect copyright.PENANAcpSSSn5lZj
540Please respect copyright.PENANA4h70nDWflz
540Please respect copyright.PENANArWDBnMWO4L
"I love you, Evetta Maji."540Please respect copyright.PENANA44gCIbqvYQ
540Please respect copyright.PENANACBxjvlilk5
540Please respect copyright.PENANAOwiw5GS8tj
"I love you too."540Please respect copyright.PENANAug3dD1cBug
540Please respect copyright.PENANA1SdriEp7Yj
540Please respect copyright.PENANAihAVvFqeQD
In this moment, with the most beautiful woman on earth giving me a heart warming smile, giving me all the love that I will ever need, I realise something — I'm truly happy. I'm at peace. All of the resentment towards the universe, the self-hatred... it's gone.540Please respect copyright.PENANA1K1rYxXzWG
540Please respect copyright.PENANAQVXkRptn7u
540Please respect copyright.PENANA5EwD3U3tV1
"You look like you're having an epiphany, or something. What's up?" she asks me.540Please respect copyright.PENANAF8gaK2JcKq
540Please respect copyright.PENANAWYstwoQfQj
540Please respect copyright.PENANAOYrQlMiUIe
"You just make me... happy. I'm not angry anymore," I reply. 540Please respect copyright.PENANA1KlVXKe3cy
540Please respect copyright.PENANA9NbkxbUou4
540Please respect copyright.PENANARmo0vNhBC0
"I've realised," she states. 540Please respect copyright.PENANA0kgTxIFQDb
540Please respect copyright.PENANAoRKdYbkkzr
540Please respect copyright.PENANAmlstS6x2t1
"So I'm the same old Caleb?" I ask her jokingly, but I can guess what she's going to say before she says it.540Please respect copyright.PENANAvfrV7etaSD
540Please respect copyright.PENANAN17En4bbji
540Please respect copyright.PENANAl1rrd79reM
"No, not the same... something this dramatic has to have a lasting impact on you. The core aspects of your personality are still there... but... it's as if you have a greater appreciation for life."540Please respect copyright.PENANA4cPpUW5l6A
540Please respect copyright.PENANAwQ0VcXTw5i
540Please respect copyright.PENANA0Bl0OItZ0z
"So I wasn't grateful before?" I ask her.540Please respect copyright.PENANA0cE7CGtS89
540Please respect copyright.PENANAUnypwcX4RA
540Please respect copyright.PENANAewGPuttYRV
"That was just me not wanting to tell you that you're fucking whipped. Won't last forever though. Shut up and listen," she scolds when I open my mouth to interrupt her. "Being in love is fantastic. It's fun. It's the most amazing feeling ever. It's also the worst thing to depend on when trying to keep a relationship. Loving someone, and being in love with someone are two different things. I've seen it with my parents. Sometimes it's as if they're the only two people in the world; they can only see each other. Sometimes, they're completely pissed with each other, for days, even weeks... but every night, my father comes home with a fresh cupcake for my mother from Sugar and Spice, and my mother sets dinner for my father. And sometimes, there are no fireworks... but the sparks are still there. You feel me?"540Please respect copyright.PENANAEyQkdjepdo
540Please respect copyright.PENANAjtUoxH65hS
540Please respect copyright.PENANA1mHPvrw9PB
"Yeah," I say, taking it all in. I've never thought of it that way.540Please respect copyright.PENANATr3wb2s4k0
540Please respect copyright.PENANAXkXJTyRdTX
540Please respect copyright.PENANAk3c5rA1FkW
"Remember before the accident, how we had that huge fight over–"540Please respect copyright.PENANAxo3u3Hh6PH
540Please respect copyright.PENANAKGIra9M6RM
540Please respect copyright.PENANAkZPvAMiNGD
"—me telling you what to wear. Yeah."540Please respect copyright.PENANA9vBRvpQNY2
540Please respect copyright.PENANAQpMkGFK7Be
540Please respect copyright.PENANAA3NDDNWxmQ
"It took forever for us to get over it, but every night—"540Please respect copyright.PENANAeX8ATLgCkH
540Please respect copyright.PENANAG5NvIkcSQL
540Please respect copyright.PENANAmzJH6pjZC4
"—we would text each other. I remember."540Please respect copyright.PENANAre9Vtkm4hS
540Please respect copyright.PENANAJN7zTPSTFN
540Please respect copyright.PENANAihunAiQhxX
She smiles, and kisses my jaw.540Please respect copyright.PENANAGHbnMQBAPD
540Please respect copyright.PENANAo2ZiVDl6os
540Please respect copyright.PENANAtw05gF8TCh
"That's when I realised how much I loved you, because at that moment, there were no fireworks—"540Please respect copyright.PENANAtbt5dP1bpq
540Please respect copyright.PENANAoGntWWXmkx
540Please respect copyright.PENANAmAsqEpghpi
"—but the sparks were still there." 540Please respect copyright.PENANA6fdofglZ0J
540Please respect copyright.PENANAXiNTf2W1fH
540Please respect copyright.PENANAanggU8zWbT
"And they always will be."540Please respect copyright.PENANAIzrMxNSgiP
540Please respect copyright.PENANAeIHUm1bYso
540Please respect copyright.PENANAnJPXOg6bb9
She doesn't know how true that is. I will never stop loving her. Not even when I'm pissed at her beyond words. Not even when she fùcks up. Not even when she hurls hurtful words at me as she pushes out my child, because let's be honest, Evetta is exactly the type of woman to do that shit in the moment.540Please respect copyright.PENANAV5K5iZTvpv
540Please respect copyright.PENANAt9c8Jw9E2I
540Please respect copyright.PENANAgn31AMtiCs
I will always love this woman.540Please respect copyright.PENANAO9pVD5bEyY
540Please respect copyright.PENANAGAyAyZaFET
540Please respect copyright.PENANA68BAUKh5qk
"Yes," I say reassuringly, "they will."540Please respect copyright.PENANAKct12iEWjX
540Please respect copyright.PENANA739H6j8quZ
540Please respect copyright.PENANAEURIjaiY0G