Page 67 of His Forever

María-Luisa smiled at the couple.Jorge, you were right.I can see the love they have for one another. Out loud, she said, “Si, I have a list and will grab the money.”

“Mamá, I have it,” they both said in unison. Zeus then said, “No,Ihave it, mi siempre hermosa. You can get some things for the kids if you’d like.”

“Can we take a cooler so we can get popsicles?” she asked.

“Si,” he said before going and grabbing two empty coolers. “We will grab more ice as well.”

Getting the list, they made their way to his truck and headed to Walmart. “You doing okay, Marleigh?” he finally asked.

“What do you mean?”

“After yesterday and last night,” he responded. “I mean, are you uncomfortable?”

“Um…ah…a little sore but nothing that won’t pass,” she finally said, blushing to the roots of her hair.

“Mi siempre hermosa, no embarrassment, remember?” he told her, taking her hand in his. “We will soak later, if you want.”

He was killing her. His kindness and caring toward her made her heart smile. “That sounds wonderful to me,” she replied.

Once at Walmart, they grabbed the items on the list while she found another piñata and some sparklers for the kids. The men planned to set off fireworks once it was dark, but she knew the kids would enjoy those as well as the glow sticks she grabbed. When they got over to the health and beauty section, she raised her eyebrows before saying, “What do we need over here?”

He didn’t say anything, just went to the bath salts section where he grabbed a bag of Epsom salts, as well as several other things. When he had everything in the basket he was looking for, he said, “For our bath, mi siempre hermosa.”

“I’ve never taken a bath with someone else,” she said.

“Me either. I am finding that with you, there are many firsts I’ve missed out on,” he replied. “And I look forward to changing that.”

“Thank you.”

“For what, Marleigh?”

“Making me feel so loved.”

Stopping, he turned her around and cupped her face so she had to look at him. “Marleigh? Youareloved and I will do anything in my power to show you that each and every day, okay?” Before she could answer, he kissed her then maneuvered her so she was walking in front of him while he pushed the cart. “Now, let’s head back because I think we will need a siesta at some point.”

***

Back at the party, they got everything put up before they got back in the pool. Watching him play with his nieces and nephews had her smiling once again. He had boundless energy with them and it was evident how much he enjoyed playing with them as they splashed and asked him to dunk them again and again.

“Marleigh?” her mother asked.

“Hmm?”

“Your young man and his family are very nice.”

“Yes they are. I love it here, Mother, and am glad I broke down,” she said.

“Watching how he treats you makes me glad things didn’t work with Colton. I can see now he wasn’t who you needed. Your Zeus allows you to be you with no expectations.”

She thought about what her mother said and realized she spoke the truth. “You’re right. He has never cared what I did for a living and has embraced who I am without reservation. He hasn’t tried to change who I am and I’m so grateful because Colton was never happy with who I was as a person or a woman.”

“I can see that now. I’m sorry I didn’t see that before and tried to push you like I did. I just figured that since he didn’t want children…”

“Mother, it’s okay. You didn’t know and things…well, things between us were different,” she finally told her mother.

***

With lunch done, the men got the steaks and chicken they would be grilling later marinating before Zeus came toward her, hand outstretched. “Come on, mi siempre hermosa, let’s get you out of the sun for a little while, si?”

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