I Promise You

Before long we’ve eaten some fancy tacos and downed some beers and are sitting in chairs around the fire while the girls laugh nearby. Dad and Brianna have taken the girls to bed and Nana has retired to watch TV. Someone, probably Romy, has turned on the speakers, and music plays in the background.

“Girl on Fire” by Alicia Keys comes on and I can’t help but smile around my beer. Serena was listening to it the night she saw me in the Pig. It’s her theme song, and man, it fits her. She looks like a girl, but she’s a flame. My flame.

I glance over at her, and as if she senses me, she turns her head and our eyes cling. Contentment and satisfaction unfurl inside me.

Dandelion, my eyes say. Thank you for loving me, needing me, trusting me. I promise to love you until my dying breath.

She knows my heart is true.

She smiles and blows me a kiss.