I can't take my eye off of her hand.424Please respect copyright.PENANAvtVmGHQwA4
We're back at the bar where we first met, each with a bottle of ginger ale.424Please respect copyright.PENANAt5gsatSnej
The ring... it fits her finger perfectly. Its as if her finger was destined to wear that ring as a symbol that she is mine, and I am hers. Forever.424Please respect copyright.PENANAUK2M9gM8CY
"Caleb, if you could get a pet, what would it bue?" she asks.424Please respect copyright.PENANApUaQ1LF7lu
"A parrot," I reply almost immediately.424Please respect copyright.PENANANb9ZIlshy6
She smiles. 424Please respect copyright.PENANAkSsnG42WH9
424Please respect copyright.PENANAvKs5pXsU3s
424Please respect copyright.PENANA7wksEmybnr
"Me, too."424Please respect copyright.PENANAtEnlZjEQf7
424Please respect copyright.PENANAGARYALMeZL
424Please respect copyright.PENANAbOKugXjfai
"Why?" I ask her.424Please respect copyright.PENANAZzP167JU7z
424Please respect copyright.PENANAUOrIP8Rzrx
424Please respect copyright.PENANAune8RH3Ypc
"They're loving and they live long."424Please respect copyright.PENANAOYaRMY3GsH
424Please respect copyright.PENANA7on5LuXOT1
424Please respect copyright.PENANACjVBRu9OiU
424Please respect copyright.PENANAoAZEUPQbp0
424Please respect copyright.PENANAHibcw8t05K
"That's my reason, too," I grin.424Please respect copyright.PENANAafISCI3GAn
I have a love for animals, and I know how hard it is for an owner to watch their pet die; I don't want to go through that. 424Please respect copyright.PENANACyOFzDJrjg
At my age, if I get a young Macaw or African Grey, it would probably outlive me. Problem solved.424Please respect copyright.PENANA6EVmdXHYQ3
"What's your favourite type of parrot?" I ask her.424Please respect copyright.PENANAEnGOjdo3OH
"Military Macaw," she responds with a giggle. "It's probably because I've watched 'Rio'so many times."424Please respect copyright.PENANAxLWmdZb5Z4
I smile at her.424Please respect copyright.PENANAvRjF9aNh2b
"They can also be very aggressive," I mutter to her, wincing as I recall a Blue Macaw tearing its beak into Eli's flesh.424Please respect copyright.PENANAWtWJjDLgwA
That wasn't fun.424Please respect copyright.PENANAZvYuEDfwdX
"True," she mutters.424Please respect copyright.PENANAN9FevcCz5g
I look at her for a few seconds.424Please respect copyright.PENANA2XjxD7ygRs
"You want one."424Please respect copyright.PENANAoLPMEXJBqK
She looks back at me.424Please respect copyright.PENANAkdHwDpsa8o
"Yeah, I've been thinking about it," she says with a smile.424Please respect copyright.PENANA8Wk6RnreYN
"Well, lets do it then," I say to her.424Please respect copyright.PENANARNXnD4768m
"Really?"424Please respect copyright.PENANAd79kk8j27d
"Really."424Please respect copyright.PENANAreOsugG2LS
She awards me with one of those heart melting smiles again.424Please respect copyright.PENANA5GRW0AvmF9
"I hope you can teach me how to take care of it, because when it comes to that shit, I suck."424Please respect copyright.PENANAjQEDxmWlxk
"Of course," I retort, smiling to myself.424Please respect copyright.PENANAhyq5FEd58v
"Do you know where to get one?"424Please respect copyright.PENANAGU9s6KP4hC
"I can find out," I reply.424Please respect copyright.PENANAlZ1MiEGx9o
She looks down at her ring finger, and smiles, then looking up at me.424Please respect copyright.PENANARo3jeoTZNS
"So, when are we gonna do this?"424Please respect copyright.PENANAmm7zxZXwFx
"Huh?"424Please respect copyright.PENANAVcFedBJQT7
"Get married," she clarifies.424Please respect copyright.PENANAKlM1DStJl7
I hadn't even thought about the wedding yet, to be honest.424Please respect copyright.PENANAVb4jSRVjQl
"I don't know. When do you want to do it?"424Please respect copyright.PENANAvVrpP1jpvT
"July," she mumbles, but I know that she wants to say more.424Please respect copyright.PENANAK8AO3qFNC5
"What is it?" I ask.424Please respect copyright.PENANA2y6ivWSZFa
She chews her lip, and then exhales. 424Please respect copyright.PENANApMofW4djY0
"I want to get married in Jamaica."424Please respect copyright.PENANAT2XpHwV9II
I hadn't even thought about that, but the truth is that it would be fantastic; I've never been to Jamaica, never seen her family, her childhood friends, looked into that part of her life.424Please respect copyright.PENANAGpN1mSy2SP
"Never mind—"424Please respect copyright.PENANAuzLzHOBWfI
"That would be amazing," I breathe.424Please respect copyright.PENANA6NA06vpGHp
"Really?" she asks, a huge smile spreading over her face.424Please respect copyright.PENANAKVTgYtzUGv
"Yes! I'd love to see that part of your life."424Please respect copyright.PENANAtkIjW9q7SX
She reaches over and hugs me.424Please respect copyright.PENANA4Knm34e9U3
"Thank you," she whispers.424Please respect copyright.PENANA2oxe7kUltp
"You're very welcome, Eve."424Please respect copyright.PENANAximWPjFNq0
***424Please respect copyright.PENANABJUMlRL70L
We got a female Military Macaw; she's one year old, and Evetta named her "Jade", because of the colour of her body.424Please respect copyright.PENANAFntgnLKphh
Right now, she's scratching the bird's head, and it's leaning into her hand. I don't know why this looks so beautiful to me; then again, everything she does looks beautiful to me.424Please respect copyright.PENANAGqVthhFaRB
She looks over at me, and her brow furrows.424Please respect copyright.PENANANs5YUFMIux
"What?" she asks.424Please respect copyright.PENANAiE0ae3EmH2
"Nothing. It's just that... you're really beautiful."424Please respect copyright.PENANAerRn6YOBQv
She smiles at me; sometimes, I wonder if she knows what that smile does to me.424Please respect copyright.PENANAziiQyptNtr
"Same," she replies.424Please respect copyright.PENANAPDusM77mkF
I move over to her, and rest my head on her shoulder. She leans her head on my head.424Please respect copyright.PENANA6LWPzU459W
Recently, I've been thinking about... everything; bout me being in a coma for over a year, about how I did remember her when I woke up, or for the weeks that followed, about the fact that she could have just gotten up and left my ass.424Please respect copyright.PENANANVh4M6vHV4
But Evetta stayed.424Please respect copyright.PENANAISAZAobOcb
And for that, I will forever be grateful.424Please respect copyright.PENANACi4LPYTmiJ
"Thank you," I mumble into her neck, and she pulls back and gives me a questioning look.424Please respect copyright.PENANAcCKvhhAIm0
"For what?" she asks, looking and sounding puzzled.424Please respect copyright.PENANAJPZsDRCxhC
424Please respect copyright.PENANAkDTjjqwbRg
424Please respect copyright.PENANAKBUgh8E8UV
"For not leaving," I clarify.424Please respect copyright.PENANAbhe4IMlM62
424Please respect copyright.PENANAWc5i9ltuvt
424Please respect copyright.PENANAZhSbhyc0AV
She looks straight into my eyes, then drops her gazes and sighs.424Please respect copyright.PENANAgvgWnZFBIb
424Please respect copyright.PENANADhjwHckylb
424Please respect copyright.PENANAPK4yXVXW06
"I love you more than you could ever know," she whispers.424Please respect copyright.PENANA6bP23Gdwqi
424Please respect copyright.PENANA0GhIOjcIwV
424Please respect copyright.PENANAL8dSGcPxnI
"If it's anywhere near as much as I love you, " I start, tilting her head up so that she will look at me.424Please respect copyright.PENANAeJMmgz7PQY
424Please respect copyright.PENANAq5TnsXq4Jn
424Please respect copyright.PENANAVYcsKbclZt
"—then I think I have a pretty good idea," I finish.424Please respect copyright.PENANAMCkSii6TAS
424Please respect copyright.PENANAA2cf1WB1VX
424Please respect copyright.PENANASsSnxuAv5M
I kiss her, and she moans into my mouth, not expecting it.424Please respect copyright.PENANAvhP4Xku15r
424Please respect copyright.PENANAcBV5f7Tnfr
424Please respect copyright.PENANAcJTW9wlnDt
"Don't do that," I grunt, pulling away from her.424Please respect copyright.PENANAcXhSsehOiy
424Please respect copyright.PENANA1Mes8GIOH4
424Please respect copyright.PENANA2vtqgK2jmo
"Sorry," she says, not sounding sorry at all. The bird which is on her lap gives a loud shriek, as if trying to revert the attention back onto herself.424Please respect copyright.PENANA9kxAhxU39g
424Please respect copyright.PENANAJ4RoXy1iWw
424Please respect copyright.PENANAxGL9vAc4Om
"I think Jade is jealous," Evetta says with a chuckle.424Please respect copyright.PENANAuCnkKQpXZQ
424Please respect copyright.PENANA2io97jt3hq
424Please respect copyright.PENANAZYBAzk0B32
"Well, shell just have to learn to live with it," I reply seriously.424Please respect copyright.PENANAKypa8Wevau
424Please respect copyright.PENANAUm3JeCRTiK
424Please respect copyright.PENANAwYX2BLp8IH
She laughs, probably not realising just how serious I am. There is no way that I'm going to allow a damn bird to get between us.424Please respect copyright.PENANAqsW0JDyZmW
424Please respect copyright.PENANAcsBDuwgIJo
424Please respect copyright.PENANA0FTjGefOIf
"So... about that wedding," I start.424Please respect copyright.PENANAqY7I7QA2ir
424Please respect copyright.PENANAEMukMCQpIX
424Please respect copyright.PENANA7a1i0Xmow1
"I was thinking we should have it at my mother's house," she replies.424Please respect copyright.PENANAmex9UWos3t
424Please respect copyright.PENANAR3wyAxoWYe
424Please respect copyright.PENANAh9Vtrx6XMt
"Really?" 424Please respect copyright.PENANAoKO4iGYQ74
424Please respect copyright.PENANAKKkFk4wfzX
424Please respect copyright.PENANAapYzapD8H2
"Yeah. Not like I want many people there, anyway," she states.424Please respect copyright.PENANALDBXhS8gU9
424Please respect copyright.PENANAxBOfWddDaI
424Please respect copyright.PENANAVlySE6c9hJ
"Who would be there?"424Please respect copyright.PENANAVtNHhoqCPd
424Please respect copyright.PENANAZkXA61v5hI
424Please respect copyright.PENANALaDJ8XfBwi
"My friends and close family," she says, putting emphasis on the word 'close' and bringing back some embarrassing memories. I just hope that Evetta doesn't use her borderline mindreading powers on me and bring it up.424Please respect copyright.PENANAQK82B5434u
424Please respect copyright.PENANAFObsa5CkTj
424Please respect copyright.PENANAEE1brpyaiZ
"Thinking 'bout Uncle George?" Evetta asks with a grin, causing my cheeks to redden. I will never forget the day that my mother's brother showed up at our house drunk and unannounced, and asked for a place to stay. Of course Evetta was staying there, and of course, he had to say something when he saw her.424Please respect copyright.PENANAofxga2HpPC
424Please respect copyright.PENANAHImxKsHgl6
424Please respect copyright.PENANAVAYTBFAMin
"So Caleb, I never knew that you were into the darkies. I mean, they're good to shag, but not to keep."424Please respect copyright.PENANAzyLUSIXWM3
424Please respect copyright.PENANAjtv4jghgUZ
424Please respect copyright.PENANA9j9vYbMwQR
Now, most people would get upset, right? But Evetta... Evetta just started laughing. She laughed so hard that she had to bend over and clutch her stomach.424Please respect copyright.PENANAAkJ7PRXXjA
424Please respect copyright.PENANARYoMXPXGpF
424Please respect copyright.PENANA65BwlQSQ0L
"What is it, girlie?" he asks.424Please respect copyright.PENANAszI96epdCW
424Please respect copyright.PENANAqPsKcrLXLF
424Please respect copyright.PENANAmAAmSVNuvm
"You're a drunk, you smell like piss, you've probably never had a girlfriend, I doubt you've had sex with anyone who wasn't paid or on drugs in the past year... and you're giving relationship advice? You're like those catholic priests who tell people not to use condoms."424Please respect copyright.PENANA0JnboqEbxp
424Please respect copyright.PENANAqGxQHygM4O
424Please respect copyright.PENANAlwWORyHUmM
Needless to say Uncle George wasn't too pleased. He was even angrier when my parents kicked him out.424Please respect copyright.PENANADM12rRnQu0
424Please respect copyright.PENANABFC8TNSU0i
424Please respect copyright.PENANA3RHVAB1R1q
"Caleb, sometimes your mouth is really too big," he said.424Please respect copyright.PENANAimaoZOpNKO
424Please respect copyright.PENANALQtziMuz0l
424Please respect copyright.PENANADszp7DRK8L
"You don't have to do—"424Please respect copyright.PENANA3Btk8dN6zz
424Please respect copyright.PENANAtZtAiq4doX
424Please respect copyright.PENANAG3OUOSkE0J
"Evetta, its fine," my mother reassured her.424Please respect copyright.PENANATC4t2BH5M0
424Please respect copyright.PENANAhFxyeoi823
424Please respect copyright.PENANAF2JFJRllTL
So with that, Uncle George was exiled.424Please respect copyright.PENANAbvQBTdl3lq
424Please respect copyright.PENANAkgHybj0nSC
424Please respect copyright.PENANAsoHpMkvDif
"Please don't bring him up," I say to her.424Please respect copyright.PENANAN19a38uQdQ
424Please respect copyright.PENANAlL2cFUdmvy
424Please respect copyright.PENANARcGAvXWWRy
"She giggles, and puts her head against my chest.424Please respect copyright.PENANAq6SxxserF1
424Please respect copyright.PENANAwphoY2UssY
424Please respect copyright.PENANAzOamLJhCy9
"This is going to be amazing," she says, cuddling up to me with a huge smile on her face.424Please respect copyright.PENANAdLA7yxEpvu
424Please respect copyright.PENANAnYFYu9n8Mw
424Please respect copyright.PENANAkLaVNp6y69
"I love you, Evetta Maji."424Please respect copyright.PENANACSI1HrB1Vf
424Please respect copyright.PENANADBGHaEt2V3
424Please respect copyright.PENANAINsV9IYufH
"I love you too."424Please respect copyright.PENANAQ9N0chcsvj
424Please respect copyright.PENANAQRlS80sNxJ
424Please respect copyright.PENANAq8UmBCiPRw
In this moment, with the most beautiful woman on earth giving me a heart warming smile, giving me all the love that I will ever need, I realise something — I'm truly happy. I'm at peace. All of the resentment towards the universe, the self-hatred... it's gone.424Please respect copyright.PENANArTRFNd3uRR
424Please respect copyright.PENANAIfwH0oW614
424Please respect copyright.PENANAellu0KOnO4
"You look like you're having an epiphany, or something. What's up?" she asks me.424Please respect copyright.PENANA1IhDkgyTvk
424Please respect copyright.PENANAvsNl7Ocm0O
424Please respect copyright.PENANAApbf7HPckE
"You just make me... happy. I'm not angry anymore," I reply. 424Please respect copyright.PENANAzqzXIngoZR
424Please respect copyright.PENANAq6gMLv8r07
424Please respect copyright.PENANACdOANqfPhT
"I've realised," she states. 424Please respect copyright.PENANAnAIKRPwYeF
424Please respect copyright.PENANAs2yeAmH2vi
424Please respect copyright.PENANAFaWnx0hs08
"So I'm the same old Caleb?" I ask her jokingly, but I can guess what she's going to say before she says it.424Please respect copyright.PENANAJEzrV1oeX8
424Please respect copyright.PENANAi44Bx09lAm
424Please respect copyright.PENANADmFpSasyzN
"No, not the same... something this dramatic has to have a lasting impact on you. The core aspects of your personality are still there... but... it's as if you have a greater appreciation for life."424Please respect copyright.PENANAXdc03nKn6G
424Please respect copyright.PENANAfok7Wy7kbU
424Please respect copyright.PENANAx1NPpwqiH7
"So I wasn't grateful before?" I ask her.424Please respect copyright.PENANAx12ofb5LZj
424Please respect copyright.PENANAlNVQdBTu2M
424Please respect copyright.PENANAZPbBhoKzkt
"That was just me not wanting to tell you that you're fucking whipped. Won't last forever though. Shut up and listen," she scolds when I open my mouth to interrupt her. "Being in love is fantastic. It's fun. It's the most amazing feeling ever. It's also the worst thing to depend on when trying to keep a relationship. Loving someone, and being in love with someone are two different things. I've seen it with my parents. Sometimes it's as if they're the only two people in the world; they can only see each other. Sometimes, they're completely pissed with each other, for days, even weeks... but every night, my father comes home with a fresh cupcake for my mother from Sugar and Spice, and my mother sets dinner for my father. And sometimes, there are no fireworks... but the sparks are still there. You feel me?"424Please respect copyright.PENANALHsokfFjob
424Please respect copyright.PENANAkGnK0fo2R9
424Please respect copyright.PENANAmZQ9OmzRNC
"Yeah," I say, taking it all in. I've never thought of it that way.424Please respect copyright.PENANAgyLXPDcsLr
424Please respect copyright.PENANAg85v08vubX
424Please respect copyright.PENANAkOg55MNm5Q
"Remember before the accident, how we had that huge fight over–"424Please respect copyright.PENANA8QMG4v17nk
424Please respect copyright.PENANAO8Y1fTUkq6
424Please respect copyright.PENANAQoAonfEnZK
"—me telling you what to wear. Yeah."424Please respect copyright.PENANAna7dVOPc8j
424Please respect copyright.PENANA31Br4ZZBH3
424Please respect copyright.PENANAqf5sHNKz60
"It took forever for us to get over it, but every night—"424Please respect copyright.PENANAoZzqhXJZtv
424Please respect copyright.PENANAIWtDA0OTLm
424Please respect copyright.PENANAcTmWdVPmDc
"—we would text each other. I remember."424Please respect copyright.PENANAuqiS8xv2WN
424Please respect copyright.PENANAceKynnXhBy
424Please respect copyright.PENANAK2SRoouUkI
She smiles, and kisses my jaw.424Please respect copyright.PENANAffZJXvJ08L
424Please respect copyright.PENANAEl01mCDDDh
424Please respect copyright.PENANAtx7p27LTpM
"That's when I realised how much I loved you, because at that moment, there were no fireworks—"424Please respect copyright.PENANAc7uQTSrmnS
424Please respect copyright.PENANABvMbwjbSDZ
424Please respect copyright.PENANAShEIxMYWcJ
"—but the sparks were still there." 424Please respect copyright.PENANAj3DJpOuDlK
424Please respect copyright.PENANANmH7tuU1vo
424Please respect copyright.PENANAUvkP2vyMH0
"And they always will be."424Please respect copyright.PENANAPIx1eyH5Pu
424Please respect copyright.PENANAouXWkycfWn
424Please respect copyright.PENANAZmuzMrK15l
She doesn't know how true that is. I will never stop loving her. Not even when I'm pissed at her beyond words. Not even when she fùcks up. Not even when she hurls hurtful words at me as she pushes out my child, because let's be honest, Evetta is exactly the type of woman to do that shit in the moment.424Please respect copyright.PENANAXBctOj2NVu
424Please respect copyright.PENANAwsgpklfmbu
424Please respect copyright.PENANA9fO0KeIamS
I will always love this woman.424Please respect copyright.PENANAr1pRKbn9mZ
424Please respect copyright.PENANATfpEB06DTs
424Please respect copyright.PENANA8nYwz8DUXL
"Yes," I say reassuringly, "they will."424Please respect copyright.PENANAo3Wtdxvjh5
424Please respect copyright.PENANA65nDYSZ6Cy
424Please respect copyright.PENANA4G6MGje8vn