“And nearly destroyed the man I love.”
“You give me life, mi cielo. Your heart is so big, so full of love… that it makes mine beat. You gave me life, you gave our daughter life…”
“Skull…”
“You kept her safe and you found your way back to me. You made it in time to save me again, mi cielo. That’s what those scars mean to me.”
“I let fear make me run,” she whispers.
“I won’t lie to you, mi cielo, not now. That’s the hardest part for me, but now I can mostly understand it.”
“How? I let my fear of you seeing me, of…”
“You are young, mi cielo, and you were scared.”
“I’m…”
I interrupt her, not wanting her to say anything else. “You saw those damn pictures Pistol fabricated and what confidence you had in us fled.”
“But…”
“Bottom line, mi cielo, it just doesn’t matter anymore.”
“Skull…”
“Do you want to hold the choices I made while you were gone and the threats and anger I had when I first saw you against me?”
“Of course not, but…”
“It is the same for me, mi cielo. I finally have you back and I’m not going to let our past come in and destroy the life we are meant to have. From now on, we think only of the future.”
“I love you, Skull,” she tells me. Her body is trembling and there are so many tears falling from her face it hurts me, but she’s never been more beautiful.
I pull her to the floor, gently kissing the largest of scars on her stomach. “Tell me about this one, mi cielo.”
“Skull… I don’t want to…”
“Tell me and let the pain out. Let me kiss them away,” I tell her.
“This was the first one…”
“And…” I prompt her when she seems lost in thought.
“Katie’s leg…” she starts brokenly. “The skin grafts from the explosion were still raw. I did the best I could to keep them clean, but they weren’t healing properly. Redmond wasn’t letting me have the proper bandages, and she needed medical care. Matthew came in one day and demanded I brand the wound closed. He even brought the branding iron and started a fire in the fireplace. When I refused, he threatened to do it himself… When I begged him not to…”
“What happened then, mi cielo?” I ask her, doing my best to keep my voice from showing the anger and disgust I feel inside.
“He asked me what I would do, to keep him from doing it…”
“Mierda,” I whisper softly, hoping she doesn’t hear it, but when she flinches, I know she does. I kiss the scar again. “Tell me.”
“I told him I’d take her pain. He handed me a knife… and told me to prove it.” Her body shakes from the force of her tears and I hold her as close as I can. “I was so scared, Skull. I was afraid I would hurt the baby. It hurt so bad, and there was so much blood. I can still hear Katie pleading with me to stop, but she was so feverish and sick. Matthew was laughing…”
“Shh… I have you, Beth. The bastard is dead. He’ll never touch you or Gabby again,” I tell her, and the tears in my own eyes blind me. “Te amo, mi cielo,” I whisper to her stomach.
I make my way to every scar, both small and large, kissing each one, praising her with each kiss for her bravery, for her courage, for just being her.
Finally when I am finished, I hold her until the tears begin to slow. Then I do the only thing I can. I slowly love her body, there on the floor, with the light on, showing her in ways no words could that she is beautiful and the only woman I will ever need or love.
Mi mundo…. My world … My pearl of great price…
“Explain to me again while we’re only twenty minutes away from the club, but having a picnic again?” I ask Skull. “I mean, really, there are picnic tables out behind the club.”
“I told you, as long as we’re on lockdown, I’m not going to let you and Gabby be far from home.”
“But you’re…”
“Even if I’m with you, Beth. I’m not going to risk you and Gabby for anything. But even so,” he says with a grin, taking a strawberry, dipping it in chocolate, then plopping it in my mouth. I open immediately because, well, they taste good, but more than that, I love when he gets that happy look on his face. “Even so,” he continues, “I want some alone time with my two favorite girls.”
“Daddy!” Gabby yells, as if on cue. She’s holding the bucket and shovel I brought.
Skull grins at her. “Mi hija is demanding me, mi amor.”
He winks. I shake my head as he goes and plays with our daughter. It’s been a week since I’ve shown him my scars, and each day, he proves even more that they don’t matter to him. It’s been a week, and I feel like finally everything is going to be okay. A week of nothing but… happiness.