I can't take my eye off of her hand.547Please respect copyright.PENANAGXeNyY15eX
We're back at the bar where we first met, each with a bottle of ginger ale.547Please respect copyright.PENANAGI7d2O3zs2
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.547Please respect copyright.PENANAxOxwxFwBqe
"Caleb, if you could get a pet, what would it bue?" she asks.547Please respect copyright.PENANAg7PXtLm2kP
"A parrot," I reply almost immediately.547Please respect copyright.PENANAWPzlhaCxG5
She smiles. 547Please respect copyright.PENANA0Uo14AByYB
547Please respect copyright.PENANAFtLNvVZqlJ
547Please respect copyright.PENANA8F3e6pJ6dL
"Me, too."547Please respect copyright.PENANAC8RRPWHef4
547Please respect copyright.PENANAGib2Jmx1Ck
547Please respect copyright.PENANA5doCii90y5
"Why?" I ask her.547Please respect copyright.PENANAhXtDaEAnuc
547Please respect copyright.PENANABJD2qnowlB
547Please respect copyright.PENANAEmw1T3g0pP
"They're loving and they live long."547Please respect copyright.PENANAaO9QBB0V1s
547Please respect copyright.PENANAXExPmhs2x0
547Please respect copyright.PENANAygkl11PNpH
547Please respect copyright.PENANAdcd5Q5rXVR
547Please respect copyright.PENANAMHpIZrq2th
"That's my reason, too," I grin.547Please respect copyright.PENANAONNXnHGW7Z
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. 547Please respect copyright.PENANA3w8KfMCqZy
At my age, if I get a young Macaw or African Grey, it would probably outlive me. Problem solved.547Please respect copyright.PENANAIolPMANmgX
"What's your favourite type of parrot?" I ask her.547Please respect copyright.PENANAUfBTO7ymuB
"Military Macaw," she responds with a giggle. "It's probably because I've watched 'Rio'so many times."547Please respect copyright.PENANAicmqSJzWPe
I smile at her.547Please respect copyright.PENANAEmRzIoQoox
"They can also be very aggressive," I mutter to her, wincing as I recall a Blue Macaw tearing its beak into Eli's flesh.547Please respect copyright.PENANA0e3Dsub6hr
That wasn't fun.547Please respect copyright.PENANAYpMrdqBRYB
"True," she mutters.547Please respect copyright.PENANA9mPff1QfNO
I look at her for a few seconds.547Please respect copyright.PENANAXUKdlCLgh3
"You want one."547Please respect copyright.PENANAS0bSXCWKmt
She looks back at me.547Please respect copyright.PENANA9blmuvSS4X
"Yeah, I've been thinking about it," she says with a smile.547Please respect copyright.PENANAwZxZ058MrY
"Well, lets do it then," I say to her.547Please respect copyright.PENANAd5iQ7eGzor
"Really?"547Please respect copyright.PENANA9PGA6wbz6u
"Really."547Please respect copyright.PENANAffKIwBKTkb
She awards me with one of those heart melting smiles again.547Please respect copyright.PENANATBNWb4ZBQB
"I hope you can teach me how to take care of it, because when it comes to that shit, I suck."547Please respect copyright.PENANAq5rmAtSZJa
"Of course," I retort, smiling to myself.547Please respect copyright.PENANAvg5NGfv49O
"Do you know where to get one?"547Please respect copyright.PENANA0KmmZBhwuD
"I can find out," I reply.547Please respect copyright.PENANAcGieW52sgE
She looks down at her ring finger, and smiles, then looking up at me.547Please respect copyright.PENANAFS5UHwBxtM
"So, when are we gonna do this?"547Please respect copyright.PENANAqa6DccHNa6
"Huh?"547Please respect copyright.PENANAUOD7mmESDx
"Get married," she clarifies.547Please respect copyright.PENANA3ADthGRfF8
I hadn't even thought about the wedding yet, to be honest.547Please respect copyright.PENANAlzPEcmjCui
"I don't know. When do you want to do it?"547Please respect copyright.PENANAjq0fclBgyl
"July," she mumbles, but I know that she wants to say more.547Please respect copyright.PENANANX7UXjpGtv
"What is it?" I ask.547Please respect copyright.PENANAbIWezijmgu
She chews her lip, and then exhales. 547Please respect copyright.PENANAYo69juhYrF
"I want to get married in Jamaica."547Please respect copyright.PENANAYFkg23sIIZ
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.547Please respect copyright.PENANAahE2wJCrQS
"Never mind—"547Please respect copyright.PENANAAAhIlmO1e5
"That would be amazing," I breathe.547Please respect copyright.PENANAfnprBQqgGT
"Really?" she asks, a huge smile spreading over her face.547Please respect copyright.PENANAaIm7qBjPAX
"Yes! I'd love to see that part of your life."547Please respect copyright.PENANAQ7NF0NiHBr
She reaches over and hugs me.547Please respect copyright.PENANAFjy6i6xwZI
"Thank you," she whispers.547Please respect copyright.PENANAgCA0eqaHvG
"You're very welcome, Eve."547Please respect copyright.PENANAKbEvljOrLv
***547Please respect copyright.PENANAc3XX2x5icB
We got a female Military Macaw; she's one year old, and Evetta named her "Jade", because of the colour of her body.547Please respect copyright.PENANAHsX9Y6hJph
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.547Please respect copyright.PENANAyraeXBrnvD
She looks over at me, and her brow furrows.547Please respect copyright.PENANA8glboJj13g
"What?" she asks.547Please respect copyright.PENANAAxF3eo9M31
"Nothing. It's just that... you're really beautiful."547Please respect copyright.PENANAHjvEm75Us4
She smiles at me; sometimes, I wonder if she knows what that smile does to me.547Please respect copyright.PENANAK2xPFsoOUY
"Same," she replies.547Please respect copyright.PENANAboeKPZdSQZ
I move over to her, and rest my head on her shoulder. She leans her head on my head.547Please respect copyright.PENANA7eotvnYpJ2
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.547Please respect copyright.PENANAU6g7GUzwqB
But Evetta stayed.547Please respect copyright.PENANAE2hYjLiMIF
And for that, I will forever be grateful.547Please respect copyright.PENANAHOlTB2fARV
"Thank you," I mumble into her neck, and she pulls back and gives me a questioning look.547Please respect copyright.PENANAQHlghAe7Jm
"For what?" she asks, looking and sounding puzzled.547Please respect copyright.PENANAMGuQfjD7Pg
547Please respect copyright.PENANAXKXXzme5gt
547Please respect copyright.PENANA4bcui7G3sW
"For not leaving," I clarify.547Please respect copyright.PENANAnhOkBAEIx3
547Please respect copyright.PENANAeQRNSd0ijc
547Please respect copyright.PENANAXNbzxdEHU8
She looks straight into my eyes, then drops her gazes and sighs.547Please respect copyright.PENANAtw5pjkE3in
547Please respect copyright.PENANAUvo8LOD7Wa
547Please respect copyright.PENANAQMqWy2i4zn
"I love you more than you could ever know," she whispers.547Please respect copyright.PENANAM9rZ2czjjo
547Please respect copyright.PENANAoiPfwxKwV4
547Please respect copyright.PENANAQvf4PLdvuZ
"If it's anywhere near as much as I love you, " I start, tilting her head up so that she will look at me.547Please respect copyright.PENANAdjhplAWhtY
547Please respect copyright.PENANAq9b7LLEQs1
547Please respect copyright.PENANAxLVsE6cdlN
"—then I think I have a pretty good idea," I finish.547Please respect copyright.PENANAfmKe8jN0zr
547Please respect copyright.PENANAeOa3p6i7OP
547Please respect copyright.PENANAIzYsNQ0n46
I kiss her, and she moans into my mouth, not expecting it.547Please respect copyright.PENANAcThWmygDVi
547Please respect copyright.PENANAYhtW6Q7NwR
547Please respect copyright.PENANAhW38Csutpt
"Don't do that," I grunt, pulling away from her.547Please respect copyright.PENANATDRiIiroYB
547Please respect copyright.PENANACp9D2hCSBZ
547Please respect copyright.PENANArewG6KDeD8
"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.547Please respect copyright.PENANAPLXZriaNW2
547Please respect copyright.PENANAqIa9ekqP0N
547Please respect copyright.PENANA6ogLa95GU3
"I think Jade is jealous," Evetta says with a chuckle.547Please respect copyright.PENANAvQbvOm4FHL
547Please respect copyright.PENANA046zqrBNo6
547Please respect copyright.PENANAmNRBWgYHz7
"Well, shell just have to learn to live with it," I reply seriously.547Please respect copyright.PENANA2pA7q3SfQK
547Please respect copyright.PENANA7Xos8CKdbi
547Please respect copyright.PENANAiaqObI76re
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.547Please respect copyright.PENANAmAPvrQV92Y
547Please respect copyright.PENANANfOsb0LZ1P
547Please respect copyright.PENANAf4pVLEd8yT
"So... about that wedding," I start.547Please respect copyright.PENANANdMf3737OC
547Please respect copyright.PENANAtsXIf7nBF9
547Please respect copyright.PENANAxVy9dowPEl
"I was thinking we should have it at my mother's house," she replies.547Please respect copyright.PENANAfGtzb10wii
547Please respect copyright.PENANAI2vKn8nmBX
547Please respect copyright.PENANA6TSjPG5MAY
"Really?" 547Please respect copyright.PENANAgl4MLPghwo
547Please respect copyright.PENANAXAVbhq9RKl
547Please respect copyright.PENANA96vmu0v1e0
"Yeah. Not like I want many people there, anyway," she states.547Please respect copyright.PENANATxWS7uGQW2
547Please respect copyright.PENANAxq7qvvsTNB
547Please respect copyright.PENANANIpV8PckKi
"Who would be there?"547Please respect copyright.PENANAqP1hlxAfeh
547Please respect copyright.PENANA6wLppYslEq
547Please respect copyright.PENANAac2US1NcVK
"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.547Please respect copyright.PENANAAYGj0ucRGA
547Please respect copyright.PENANAV81hXe3J0r
547Please respect copyright.PENANAaSD5DBMsh3
"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.547Please respect copyright.PENANADOKxhXsfKH
547Please respect copyright.PENANAQ3Q2IC2M37
547Please respect copyright.PENANAJJ9fMYVbBK
"So Caleb, I never knew that you were into the darkies. I mean, they're good to shag, but not to keep."547Please respect copyright.PENANAXXzrpsPyIi
547Please respect copyright.PENANAr0JKs7be5q
547Please respect copyright.PENANAYoq1DEP8DF
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.547Please respect copyright.PENANADIAHjY8CXi
547Please respect copyright.PENANAjvXbes5qSO
547Please respect copyright.PENANAmtr3phG3Bp
"What is it, girlie?" he asks.547Please respect copyright.PENANANoKjgPBAge
547Please respect copyright.PENANAsc2GeT8Lt3
547Please respect copyright.PENANAhtfGVSyvUQ
"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."547Please respect copyright.PENANAdsERsqSerT
547Please respect copyright.PENANAEniZZXBN9c
547Please respect copyright.PENANA8keeIO2N1F
Needless to say Uncle George wasn't too pleased. He was even angrier when my parents kicked him out.547Please respect copyright.PENANAQ5zIrQy3El
547Please respect copyright.PENANARZtHtFbAhX
547Please respect copyright.PENANAAu3boXZGiv
"Caleb, sometimes your mouth is really too big," he said.547Please respect copyright.PENANAUwC7QWBXgr
547Please respect copyright.PENANAvv4q2Q587E
547Please respect copyright.PENANAcptTlyGSJQ
"You don't have to do—"547Please respect copyright.PENANAQtTQsDp8ul
547Please respect copyright.PENANAvLcTnIRlxw
547Please respect copyright.PENANAOocojW3ucj
"Evetta, its fine," my mother reassured her.547Please respect copyright.PENANA5Dkj9IKaw8
547Please respect copyright.PENANALmTFtGz2cH
547Please respect copyright.PENANA3CKoW3jbE4
So with that, Uncle George was exiled.547Please respect copyright.PENANAu4FFVv2NTp
547Please respect copyright.PENANAzqAjNvslzH
547Please respect copyright.PENANAls9NOA8rC1
"Please don't bring him up," I say to her.547Please respect copyright.PENANA4Mh2xfvZI0
547Please respect copyright.PENANAcU1RntoJjv
547Please respect copyright.PENANAtG4LPaEHBx
"She giggles, and puts her head against my chest.547Please respect copyright.PENANAQJzb6ylg3a
547Please respect copyright.PENANA0JDfLJzoZ5
547Please respect copyright.PENANANsrZRjuC0c
"This is going to be amazing," she says, cuddling up to me with a huge smile on her face.547Please respect copyright.PENANAVbUr5Nd5yW
547Please respect copyright.PENANAAN4qFtEZjj
547Please respect copyright.PENANAIul50tozqb
"I love you, Evetta Maji."547Please respect copyright.PENANAlIzV2unPdd
547Please respect copyright.PENANAj564VYesj7
547Please respect copyright.PENANAhK7ii1oaOn
"I love you too."547Please respect copyright.PENANA2XqUGEkEMB
547Please respect copyright.PENANAqm4xFYl2Po
547Please respect copyright.PENANAWdBsgpX9vg
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.547Please respect copyright.PENANAYWPgfvYJMH
547Please respect copyright.PENANANUsovYrdja
547Please respect copyright.PENANAtcRy6nI8RB
"You look like you're having an epiphany, or something. What's up?" she asks me.547Please respect copyright.PENANAd9kusVcuj3
547Please respect copyright.PENANAxhJT1zQJNL
547Please respect copyright.PENANArCmx6p01Ac
"You just make me... happy. I'm not angry anymore," I reply. 547Please respect copyright.PENANArf9ekE4cAo
547Please respect copyright.PENANATvCl0iYtYL
547Please respect copyright.PENANAVl17zzchLZ
"I've realised," she states. 547Please respect copyright.PENANAsgYZi0lZAt
547Please respect copyright.PENANAtMupbRgv9Q
547Please respect copyright.PENANAR9QgSE5YWA
"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.547Please respect copyright.PENANAZN5SaWgJ1I
547Please respect copyright.PENANA9TBYsTSf3b
547Please respect copyright.PENANAFoYgD6YH9D
"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."547Please respect copyright.PENANAVfMieHsslh
547Please respect copyright.PENANASeZxqabTg1
547Please respect copyright.PENANA3SoqwoVTJG
"So I wasn't grateful before?" I ask her.547Please respect copyright.PENANATVbEldm1Wj
547Please respect copyright.PENANAGtB1LBGbF5
547Please respect copyright.PENANAmmvXqaGo89
"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?"547Please respect copyright.PENANAB85Kew6qvN
547Please respect copyright.PENANAw94W6ahBB6
547Please respect copyright.PENANATsoZ6OORCb
"Yeah," I say, taking it all in. I've never thought of it that way.547Please respect copyright.PENANANtYBDRzZJK
547Please respect copyright.PENANAZfxIkS2iLH
547Please respect copyright.PENANAMByq8uQg9B
"Remember before the accident, how we had that huge fight over–"547Please respect copyright.PENANA3ooIDXmTgs
547Please respect copyright.PENANA5mk2pahTU5
547Please respect copyright.PENANAb3oNdRnJCF
"—me telling you what to wear. Yeah."547Please respect copyright.PENANAUNmqHxW38d
547Please respect copyright.PENANABb0k6uLM8W
547Please respect copyright.PENANA1USvjZDomM
"It took forever for us to get over it, but every night—"547Please respect copyright.PENANArURXUR9Hmc
547Please respect copyright.PENANABP0Ih4S0eR
547Please respect copyright.PENANAKszsIkqIZk
"—we would text each other. I remember."547Please respect copyright.PENANAh5lG3mgg4L
547Please respect copyright.PENANAChlXDWRRD9
547Please respect copyright.PENANAgatScoFQRp
She smiles, and kisses my jaw.547Please respect copyright.PENANAvNCc1ChLy2
547Please respect copyright.PENANA7fpe10zoFu
547Please respect copyright.PENANAqPVl9RHTBj
"That's when I realised how much I loved you, because at that moment, there were no fireworks—"547Please respect copyright.PENANAEzjEFmubOq
547Please respect copyright.PENANAb1A2cKXwBU
547Please respect copyright.PENANAaTV24LSNa5
"—but the sparks were still there." 547Please respect copyright.PENANATQajzwXCFk
547Please respect copyright.PENANADKb9DhI5Tz
547Please respect copyright.PENANAsKiDx5GoPV
"And they always will be."547Please respect copyright.PENANA3d2O2NcS4k
547Please respect copyright.PENANAhU1DYripC2
547Please respect copyright.PENANADs6edzl2iX
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.547Please respect copyright.PENANAJnxsMX3qpn
547Please respect copyright.PENANAQJQEQaIQsM
547Please respect copyright.PENANAqI6AAzE2Bx
I will always love this woman.547Please respect copyright.PENANARNpJiqnTEx
547Please respect copyright.PENANAMh0ujGPH2Q
547Please respect copyright.PENANAzK8lXrstru
"Yes," I say reassuringly, "they will."547Please respect copyright.PENANAf8dBPcxg8r
547Please respect copyright.PENANABUd2KgKMtI
547Please respect copyright.PENANAwIskybIXSX