Salted Wound

Chapter 58 Zamari- Mar 17, 2019

"How long again?" I complain like a child.

    "Like an hour or so." Ana's voice echoes through the phone.

    "And you'll be here?" I sit up from my bed, excitement hitting me.

    "If by here you mean my bed then yea."

    I roll my eyes even though she can't see me through the phone.

    "Come on, it's been so long since we did anything, let's go to the beach."

    "I've been at the beach all week." She grouses, but I can hear the smile in her voice that tells me I'm winning this argument.

    "So I'll meet you at your house in a little bit?"

    "Fine, have it your way." She says, but I can hear the teasing in her voice.

    I hesitate for a moment, letting silence filter in between us.

    "I missed you," I say finally, my voice quiet.

    "I missed you too." She replies, and I hear Dante in the background crowing about it.

    I chuckle at the taunts he's throwing out, and say, "Tell Dante he's the only one for me."

    She relays the message and I hear Dante making kissing noises.

    "I gotta go, this is getting too weird for me," Ana says through her laughter.

    We hang up, and I let the phone slide down, already eager to go to her house, even if I have to wait longer for her.

______
    I pull up outside of Ana's house to see her already outside, waiting for me. She's in some high waisted shorts, a grey off the shoulder button down, and some flip flops. Her dark curly long hair is let free and it halos around her face.

I get out of the car and the broad smile she gives me takes my breath away. She skips towards me and before either of us say anything, I pull her into a hug, breathing in the smell of her sun-warmed skin, a faint trace of perfume.

"So how was Florida?" I ask when we finally pull apart. She climbs into the passenger side of my car with a small sigh, leaning her head back as I climb in the driver's side.

"It was amazing, I wish you and Strella could have seen it, the water was so blue, and the weather was so different from here, it rained almost every day. It felt like we were breathing water."

I chuckle. "Strella seems to be doing good, she looks about ready to pop."

"Yea, she's like, pregnant pregnant." She says with a grin. "I'm ready to be an auntie already."

"You think she's ready?"

She's quiet for a moment and I let her process her thoughts. One thing I've noticed about the girl is that she takes her time with her thoughts and doesn't speak until she's fully thought it out.

"I'm not sure." She finally says, twisting her fingers in the hem of her shirt. "I know she's gonna be an amazing mom, it's just still going to be hard no matter what. We'll find out pretty soon though, whether she's ready or not."

I nod in agreement, and we fall into amicable silence for the rest of the drive, Ana still resting her head against the seat, eyes closed.

We get to the beach, and I park along the road winding around the sand, no other cars in sight for miles.

We climb out and stumble our way through the sand, Ana complaining that by the time she gets home her shoes will be as full of sand as her suitcase.