Page 13 of Bella and Her Beast
“Really? I’m not expecting an order. Wonder what it is.”
“Oh, hey there Mr. delivery man,” Joy says, coming from around the corner.
“Hi, Joy,” he replies. “You know there is a poetry reading tonight. You two should come out and support. I have a piece I’ll be doing.”
“Oh, really now. I didn’t know you were in the arts,” Joy says.
“Well, if you’d give me a shot, I may surprise you even more.”
“Excuse me, can you make your love connection on your time? My energy is dying and I need to get back to the knee challenge.”
“Oh, yeah. Sorry. Sign here, please.”
I put my Jane Hancock on the pad and he hands me the long rectangular box.
“See you tonight, Joy?” he asks.
“Sure. We’ll be there. Bye, Sam.”
“Bye.” Joy slowly closes the door grinning hard and wide.
Meanwhile, I go to the dining room and place the box on the table.
“Aren’t you going to open it?” Joy inquires, with a hyper tone in her voice.
“I didn’t order anything.”
“Maybe your family ordered you something. Your birthday is coming up. Maybe it’s an early gift.”
I untie the twine that is holding it closed and carefully lift the lid off. A dozen of long-stemmed roses that match the one Greyson gave me appear with a note card:
No puedo dejar de pensar en ti (I cannot stop thinking about you) ~ Greyson
A smile as wide as the Pontchartrain expressway plants itself on my face when I read those words.
“Oh my god, he didn’t,” Joy elates when she sees the card. “I mean, I don’t know the translation, but it has to be sweet for that beam of light on your mug.”
“It says I can’t stop thinking about you, that’s all.”
“Oh, he’s romantic as hell. Girl, you should go see him, or even call.”
“Maybe.” My phone rings and the caller id shows unknown. I usually send them to voicemail, but in my excitement, I answer thinking no one can bring me down from this cloud.
“Hello?”
“I was hoping you’d answer. Did you get the roses?”
“Yes, I did. They’re beautiful. Thank you. But you didn’t have to do that.”
“That’s the least I could do after your miracle cream helped heal me.”
“Oh, I was gonna ask you how you were doing.”
“Even better now that I hear your voice.”
I find a moment to breathe while I take in all this swoonery.
“Bella, I was hoping you’d like to go out with me on a date.”
