Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 68735 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 344(@200wpm)___ 275(@250wpm)___ 229(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68735 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 344(@200wpm)___ 275(@250wpm)___ 229(@300wpm)
I got to work opening boxes while he explained why there were so many pineapples.
“So do you know the story of my mom and dad?” he asked.
Laney had shared a lot about Audric’s mom and dad.
“Yeah,” I said. “At least, as far as Laney shared. I know that your parents were having issues, and that your dad was planning to divorce your mom. And those divorce plans went out the window after your mother tried to kill herself.”
I swallowed hard at the thought, like I always did, of Audric finding his mother like that.
“Yeah.” He cleared his throat. “Dad stayed with Mom. Mom’s in a facility that helps her live her life with how she is now. Dad stays miserable. As does the woman that he truly loves.”
“Laney did tell me that your dad had met someone and fallen in love with her,” I explained.
“Yeah,” he confirmed. “He hadn’t exactly made a move, because Dad’s a good person, but he loved her. Realized what he was missing and went to follow through with his desires. I fully supported him, mostly because I didn’t think he needed to stay married to a woman that he didn’t love anymore. Or maybe never had. It sucked all the way around, and I knew it wasn’t going to be the easiest thing to navigate. But the heart wants what it wants, and there’s no real way to tame it.”
I completely understood.
“Okay, so the pineapples fit in where?” I wondered, my belly tightening as I thought about who I’d always ‘wanted’ and could never have.
“Dad’s love of his life knows how much he likes pineapple. She sends them to him sporadically throughout the year when she’s thinking about him. Usually, she at least tells him when she sends them, though.”
“Maybe your dad should check on her,” I suggested. “Maybe there’s something wrong, and she couldn’t. Or maybe, she ordered them, meant to send out a text, and never go the chance to because she’s in a bad spot.”
“Let’s hope not, because I think that might strip away the only happiness Dad has left,” he grumbled.
I went through all the boxes and smiled.
“They’re all good. On the top box it says that they were only shipped out two days ago. They’re all perfect.” I set them all on the counter. “I could try to bring these home if you want me to.”
“No,” he grunted. “Dad was planning on getting out there this week anyway. He’ll just go early and eat them.”
“All of them?” I eyed the thirty pineapples.
“You underestimate how much my dad likes pineapple. And especially pineapple from Hawaii,” he said. “Have you ever tried it?”
“I’ve tried pineapple, but never ones from here specifically. What makes them so special?”
“Cut one up,” he suggested. “Pineapple cutter is in the top drawer next to the fridge.”
I moved into the kitchen, cutting up pineapple, and trying to contain all the juice.
“Wow, this is a mess,” I murmured.
He laughed. “So juicy. Try it.”
I picked up a piece and popped it into my mouth and…
“Holy wow,” I breathed as I licked my lips. “This is amazing.”
“Eat more,” he suggested.
So I did, eating every last piece.
“Wow,” I breathed. “That was the best thing I’ve ever tasted.”
“Pineapple from home makes the roof of my mouth hurt after a while. Pineapple from Hawaii is just different. It tastes ten times better, and I’m telling you, I could eat it for every meal and be perfectly content.”
We talked some more as I cleaned up the mess I’d made, making sure the kitchen was utterly spotless.
I then went to work breaking down the boxes and throwing away the packaging that held the fruit safe.
Only when I was done did I say, “Okay, I think that I’m about to pass out. I’m going to sleep on the couch until…”
“Take my room. It has clean sheets. I just changed them before I left,” he suggested.
The thought of sleeping in his room felt like a warm hug.
“Okay,” I breathed. “Which one is yours?”
He chuckled. “I think you’ll figure it out.”
After we hung up, I was too curious to go see the room he knew I’d know was his.
The first one I pushed into was a room that I knew definitely wasn’t his based solely on the fact that the entire thing was filled with surfboards.
I closed that door and moved to the next one, grinning manically when I went inside.
This one was his.
All the half-naked women on beer posters was totally him in his youth.
I remembered going into his room often and seeing them plastered all over his wall.
I pulled out my phone and sent one single text.
Me:
LOL
Audric:
I was a horny teen. What can I say?
I plugged my phone in using his charger, then fell into his bed moments later after I’d stripped out of my clothes and brushed my teeth.