Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 114368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 572(@200wpm)___ 457(@250wpm)___ 381(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 114368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 572(@200wpm)___ 457(@250wpm)___ 381(@300wpm)
“Taste?” I asked, holding Mom’s wooden spoon up to Starlet’s lips. I hadn’t cooked with it since Mom passed away, and it only felt suitable to use it for Sunday’s family dinner.
She parted her mouth and tasted the sauce. I knew it was perfect when she moaned more than she ever had with me between her legs. “Oh my gosh, that’s everything good in the world.”
I smirked and kissed her lips. “Not bad for my first time, huh?”
“You’re going to have to make this for me every Sunday. I hope you know that, right?”
“I’ll make it for the rest of your life if it keeps you moaning like that,” I joked. “You look beautiful, too. I love your natural curls.”
She patted her hair and grinned. “I’m falling in love with it, too. One day at a time.”
That was how we took everything—one day at a time.
I was still working through my issues with my sight and rebuilding a relationship with my dad. Starlet reentering my life didn’t resolve those issues. But it was more manageable, and it was lighter. I still had to learn how to swim through my grief and trials and tribulations, but somehow, I was beginning to discover my gills as my friends, family, and Star began to swim beside me.
“Can you slice the bread?” I asked. “Everyone should be here in a bit. The pasta’s pretty much done, and we can set the table now.”
“Of course,” she replied, kissing my cheek before she moved on to the following tasks. Dad had a pork shoulder on the grill that he’d been smoking for a few hours and was beginning to slice up.
Within a few minutes, people began to arrive. Starlet’s dad showed up with his employees from Inked. Whitney brought a Jell-O poke cake. Weston’s family came with a salad, and my friends all came with their appetites. They brought a few of their family members, too.
Mom would’ve loved how packed the house was with people again. With laughter, with love, with friendship.
After he’d finished talking with Eric for a few minutes, I stepped outside with Dad, feeling the warm breeze sweeping through the night.
“How are you doing?” I asked.
He crossed his arms and smiled at me. He smiled. Over the past few years, I’d been making a collection of memories of his recent smiles. For a while, I thought he wouldn’t be able to do that again. Now, all I wanted was for my father to find at least one reason to smile daily.
“I’m doing okay. I decided to join the gym,” he told me. “Someone mentioned I should meditate, but I don’t think that’s for me. Then Eric told me his favorite form of meditation was lifting heavy shit, and I figured that was something I could get behind.”
“That’s good, Dad. I’m proud of you.”
He grinned and placed a hand against my shoulder. “I’m proud of you, Son. The person you are…the person you’re becoming…” He sniffled and shook his head slightly. “She would’ve been so damn proud of the man you are today. I’m just trying to take a page from your book, and make her proud, too.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Are you sure you’ll be okay this summer with me gone? I don’t want you to be alone.”
“Don’t you worry about me. I’m going to be fine. Besides, Weston and Eric already informed me that they aren’t going to take their eyes off me for too long,” he joked. “Did you know I’m going to Chicago to get inked by Eric?”
I arched my eyebrow. “Tattoos, huh?”
He snickered. “Some would call it a fifty-year-old life crisis.”
“Others would call it healing,” I said. “So keep doing that, Dad. Keep healing.”
We stood on the back porch for a little longer as the sun set over our heads. The sky bled with bursts of oranges and maroons, strings of purples intertwined with the blues, and we breathed it in.
“Not so bad, Ana,” Dad murmured.
Not so bad at all.
The meal was a hit. We could send everyone off with leftovers, just like Mom had done. Starlet even made everyone care packages with chocolate chip cookies to take with them. That was a thing she’d learned she loved to do—bake.
While she was still on the mission to find out who she was and what she’d become, I was proud of her for being patient with the process.
After everyone left, we tossed on comfy clothes and cleaned everything up. We packed the RV for the following day. Then we went over our road map one more time. “This is going to be the best trip ever,” Starlet stated as she crawled into bed with me that night.
“I can’t believe we are doing this.”
We fell asleep in one another’s arms. When we woke up, we watched the sun rise over the lake again before going on our adventure to see more sunrises. We sat on the bench Dad made for Mom and stared toward the sky as the colors of the sun painted the landscape right before our eyes.