Page 50 of Desire

“I love you,” she whispered against my lips.

“You better because I love you, too.”

We kissed again and continued to the truck where Mark was waiting. I only used him a few days a week, and today was one of those days. He picked Desire and Azaria up from our house, brought them to me, and would take us to lunch before taking them home and getting me back to work.

“Where are we going for lunch?”

“You’ll see.”

After securing Azaria in her car seat, I helped Desire into the truck on the back passenger side, then I rounded the car and sat behind Mark. We rode in silence while Azaria played a game on her iPad with headphones.

About ten minutes later, Mark parked alongside a park. Underneath the biggest tree that provided the most shade was a large blanket, a basket, a small cooler, and a miniature table. Desire looked out of her window and immediately noticed the picnic setup.

“Oh my God, baby. Is this for us?”

“It is.”

I grabbed Azaria's iPad and headphones and put them in her bag to take with us before removing her from the car seat. After I helped Desire out of the truck, we walked to our picnic area.

“Look, Miss Chammies. Us having a picnic!” Azaria exclaimed when I put her down.

“We are, and do you know whose idea this was?”

“No.”

“Your daddy did all this for us. Isn’t he nice?”

“Yes, Daddy. You nice.”

She ran to me, hugging my legs before we all sat on the blanket. After sanitizing my hands, I reached inside the basket and began pulling out sub sandwiches, chips, and small containers of pasta salad.

“When did you have time to do all this?” she asked.

“There wasn’t much to do, baby. I made a few phone calls, told them what I wanted, and here we are.”

“This was very thoughtful, and I appreciate you.”

“You were feeling a little down about your job search and not being pregnant, so I wanted to do something to cheer you up.”

It had been two weeks since she’d lost her job, and although she’d applied at several preschools, none of them were hiring. On top of that, her cycle was late, which gave her hope that she might be pregnant. When it came a few days ago, she couldn’t hide her disappointment.

“Thank you, baby. This cheers me up a lot. What are we having for lunch?” she asked while helping Azaria set up her iPad.

I removed the paper plates from the basket and put them on the table to plate our meal. Desire and I had turkey sub sandwiches with all the trimmings, while Azaria had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I put some barbecue chips on my daughter’s plate while Desire and I had pasta salad.

“OC Grill has some of the best food in the city,” she commented after taking her first bite.

“Always has. I’d eat there at least four times a week in my younger years.”

“I didn’t go that often, but it was definitely the go-to spot back in the day.”

We ate silently for a few minutes, and I couldn’t take my eyes off my wife. Her beauty was mesmerizing, and I would happily stare at her all day, every day, for the rest of my days. However, she was so much more than her looks, and I’d enjoyed every moment thus far getting to know her.

“You’re always staring at me.”

“You’re always looking so damn beautiful.”

“I’m sure I don’t look beautiful stuffing my face.”

---