Page 50 of Love Unforgettable
“I can see where that might be difficult,” I tell her. “I like the nickname,bubbe,by the way.”
“It’s not a nickname. Or maybe it is. It’s Hebrew for grandmother. Though we aren’t related by blood, she’s the closest I’ll ever have.”
“No blood grandparents?”
She shakes her head and comes back toward the kitchen. “My mom was raised in the system and never knew her parents. My dad’s parents died when I was young. Neither had siblings. It was always just my parents, my twin brother, and me. The three of them died a few years ago in a plane crash. They were all together and coming to see me. Jesus. Why am I telling you all this? I don’t even like to talk about this. It still hurts. So much.” Her voice breaks just a little.
I go around to her side of the counter, pull her into my arms, and hold her tight. Her body shakes slightly, it takes me a second to realize that she’s crying.
“It’s supposed to get easier,” she sniffles. “But it never has. Not one day goes by that I don’t miss them. Ohmigod, why am I crying? This is so embarrassing. It’s just my period. You already know I bought tampons, so I can totally tell you that. I always cry right before my period.”
She laugh-snorts into my chest. “That’s not true at all. I cry at all kinds of things. All the time. Some kind of over-feeling, emotional freak here. It’s so pathetic.”
“Hey, sweetness, don’t say that.” I lean back slightly so I can catch her eye. “Don’t you ever make excuses for havin’ feelings, you hear me? Feeling is love. Love is the purest, most genuine, and unselfish thing you can ever give to another person. That’s sacred, not pathetic. Just like you cryin’ ‘bout it. Nothin’ wrong with tears. Didn’t Mavis ever tell you ‘what soap is for the body, tears are for the soul’?”
“No.”
“It’s a Jewish Proverb.”
“I like it.” She sniffles some more. “I think I got snot all over your shirt. I’m so sorry. I should go clean up.” She tries to push away from me, but I’m not ready to let her go yet.
“We are havin’ a moment, sweetness. I’m not tryin’ to progress our relationship too quickly or nothing. But I am near covered in your bodily fluids and, well, I think that’s deservin’ of some after the fact hugging before you run off to clean up.”
She giggles, which is what I was going for. Then she turns her head to the side and leans back into me, which is what I was hoping for.
“You feel good,” she says. “It’s weird, I feel so comfortable with you and I don’t know why.”
It’s ‘cause you’re my lightning bolt.
I take a chance and give her a light kiss on the top of the head then let her go after another quick squeeze. She looks up at me and smiles, then runs her fingers under her eyes. “Ugh, I must look a mess. Where’s the restroom?”
“You look beautiful. And it’s down that hall, first door on the left.”
I return to prepping dinner. She looks refreshed when she comes back out.
“I took a quick peek in a couple of rooms, I hope you don’t mind. This place is fantastic.”
“Mi casa es su casa,” I say.
Literally, if you want it.
“How about I give you the grand tour after dinner?” I ask.
“Sounds good,” she grins.
I’ve set out three bottles of wine for her to choose from. Which in and of itself is a tizzy attack ready to happen. How in God’s green earth do you offer a winemaker wine? That’s like trying to buy me a new pair of boots. It’s too personal a choice for someone else to make.
I clear my throat. “I’m going to have a Jack and Coke. Would you like a cocktail? Or some wine? And before you answer, I want you to know that it’s really hard to offer a winemaker wine without feeling self-conscious, so go easy on me.”
“I’ll let you in on a little secret about me,” she says, standing on the foot rest of her stool and leaning over the counter, as though she’s going to whisper.
I’m entranced.
“It’s really nice to just sit back and enjoy a glass of wine and not have to think too hard on dissecting or comparing it.” She sits back in her seat and then points to the bottle of red I couldn’t figure out how to pronounce.
Pinot Noir.
“Coming right up. Just as soon as you tell me how to pronounce it.”
