Page 100 of Bastard

“That’s it. Look at me as you come for me, baby.”

My body shakes as I fall apart around him. Yet our love is what will put me back together. It’s the yin–yang of who we are together.

He groans, a deep, guttural sound. Quickening his pace, he pounds into me a few more times, then stiffens as he climaxes.

It’s my turn to watch him fall apart, and he does so beautifully. Teeth clenched, jaw tight, fire in his eyes. It’s another image of him I’ll stow away in my memory.

His forehead touches mine as he finds his breath.

Could anything be more beautiful than this moment?

He lifts his head to stare down at me, his lips curling into a wide grin. And, I find my answer.

“I love you, Luciana.”

36

He’s gone by sunrise.

I dig my blade into the dirt. Busying myself and try not to miss him so much. This is the life I’ve chosen. His job will always be my main competitor for his attention. Still, he’s left me filled with the same hope I had when I was seventeen. Except I wasn’t ready for him back then like I am now.

“I’ve never stopped loving you,” he said. And then, he didn’t stop, not until the wee hours of the morning.

I’m a ten-minute walk outside of Nmimpi and near the main waterpipe. Yet even outside the village, I find evidence of his love everywhere. In the small shovel in my hand. The pipes in the trench. The smiling faces of the villagers, who are so deserving of everything he’s done. And why did he do all this?

I shake my head, wondering how I missed it.

He loves me. He always has.

“Stop your fretting, girl.” Mustafa slides up next to me and hands me a cup of water. “That husband of yours, he will be back.”Ex-husband. Lover. Love.

“We are days away from finishing. A professional will be coming to Nmimpi to install the pump.”

I arch an eyebrow. “A professional?”

“That is what your husband called him.”

I stare at her. “What else did my husband tell you?”

She chuckles. “Do not be fresh with me, girl. I have a way of getting information, is all. He will be back in seven days once his business is completed.”

“A week?” I grind my teeth together. Why didn’t he tell me that?

“Girl.” Mustafa laughs. “That boy, Donovan would have never made a feisty thing like you happy.”

I roll my eyes. “I didn’t expect him to. We were friends. That’s all.”

“He had eyes on you.” She makes her trademark clucking sound. “You would plow right over a gentle soul like him. Not this one. What is that funny expression? This man is going to ruffle your feathers?”

“You have a weird obsession with birds, Mustafa. Feathers. Sunbirds. Magpies.” I sigh. “When I imagine our future, do you know what I dream of?”

Mustafa nods, enthusiastically.

“A house on a lake with a wraparound porch, a large hammock, and a husband who will hold me close and whisper I love you in my ear, all day long.”

“Beautiful, just beautiful.” She claps her hands together, then nudges me with her elbow. “Want to know what this old woman envisions for your future?”

My heart skips a beat.Do I?