Eastern Lights (Compass 2)

“Loo—”

“Aaliyah,” he said with a controlled, deep tone. “Just listen.”

I sighed, and I did as he said.

Twenty-five days.

Damian showed up for twenty-five days straight to read to me, making sure I wasn’t alone. Sometimes, I wanted to ask him how Connor had been doing, but I didn’t have the guts to push out the words. I missed him too much to allow myself to ask.

42

Connor

Twenty-five days.

I’d been sitting in the lobby of the hospital since Damian informed me that Aaliyah had been admitted. She wanted nothing to do with me, so Damian showed up each day to sit with her. She had no clue that I was waiting right outside of her room, but I needed to be close, even if she didn’t know. I couldn’t imagine being anywhere else.

All I needed was for her to be okay. I needed her to recover, to come back to me whole again.

Each night, Damian would show up and give me an update on Aaliyah’s condition, and I’d give him new comic books to read to her. He’d tell me about how she was a fighter, and even though it was clear she was struggling, she’d try to keep her spirits high.

He’d tell me that she missed me—not that she said that, but he could tell.

I figured he told me that because he knew I needed to hear it, not because it was true. But, fuck, I’d hoped it was true.

As I waited one night for an update on Aaliyah, I received an email from Maiv Khang.

To:

From:

Subject: Article Approval

Hello Connor,

I hope you are well. Attached is the article written by Aaliyah Winters on your behalf. I am sending it to have you look over it to give your approval as we move forward with publishing the September issue. Thank you for taking the time to be interview. Passion appreciates your kindness and openness during this whole process.

Let me know your thoughts and if you have any concerns or issues, but after reading the article myself, I doubt there will be any complaints.

-Maiv

P.S. I attached some of the pictures from the photo shoot. The one with her looking at you is my favorite. Between you and me, I despise men. Thank you for proving to me, and Aaliyah, that some men are worth it.

I opened the pictures attached to the email, and my heart almost burst when I saw Aaliyah and me together, wrapped in one another’s arms, smiling and laughing. The world froze in those images, and all I wanted to do was create more moments like those ones. I need more time with her. I needed more time with us.

After I stared at the photographs for way too long, I went ahead and opened the article, allowing myself to fall deeply into the words Aaliyah created for me.

The Modern Day Gent:

My Weeks with Connor Roe, by Aaliyah Winters

Connor smiles as he takes a sip of his coffee.

It’s our third day meeting after he agreed to do this interview, and everything about him expresses the fact that he doesn’t realize how powerful he is—in the best of ways. He sits back in his chair with his right leg resting across his left knee. His broad shoulders are fully relaxed, showing his comfort.

His coffee has a splash of coconut milk and three sugar cubes—never two, never four.

He has nothing less than an approachable feel to him. It’s refreshing to see how calm and easygoing he is in a city that’s always moving at the speed of light to reach the next big thing. Connor Roe isn’t in a hurry. He takes it slow. He never checks his watch to see the time, as if there is nothing more important than the present moment.

That’s my biggest take away from my weeks spent with Connor—he’s a man who lives in the moment. And every moment with him, one dreams to hold onto for eternity. When the waitress brings our breakfast items, she stumbles a bit, and the bowl of oatmeal almost goes crashing to the floor. Connor moves swiftly, alert and attentive, catching the bowl in his hands at a record speed. Not even spilling a drop or burning his hands. The waitress blushes, growing timid from embarrassment, but Connor gives her that award-winning smile and easies her anxiety.

“No worries,” he states, soothing her shame. She blushes some more—a normal effect of being around this man.

No worries—a motto I’ve quickly picked up from the modern-day gentleman.

Connor believes in the magic of giving back to the world. He gives more than he takes, he fights for others more than he fights for himself. He pushes himself day in and day out to create a better life for those who weren’t born into wealth and privilege. He dreams of a world where the elderly are treated fairly, where lower-income individuals never have to worry about how to pay their rent, and where foster children never for a second have to feel lonely.