Page 27 of All the Way to the River

O n the day that I finally told the truth to Rayya—that I loved her, that I had loved her for many years, and that I wanted to be with her until she died—we had never so much as kissed.

But again, it was a simple conversation.

After I confessed my love to her, I asked, “Do you like me that way?”

Do you like me that way?

What a thing to say!

I might as well have passed her a note after gym class reading “Check box, yes or no.”

In the space between my question and her answer, I held my breath, saturated with both hope and fear. I watched as Rayya put her hand on her chest and shut her eyes.

After a long silence, she opened her eyes and smiled.

She said, “I feel like a cage just opened in my heart, and a thousand white doves flew out.”

Then she gathered me up in her arms and said, “Baby, my baby. My beautiful baby, why did you take so long to come to me?”