Total pages in book: 26
Estimated words: 22709 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 114(@200wpm)___ 91(@250wpm)___ 76(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 22709 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 114(@200wpm)___ 91(@250wpm)___ 76(@300wpm)
I didn’t budge until a knock sounded on the door in the early afternoon. I would have ignored it, but I was worried it could be an art delivery for my parents. It would have been out of the ordinary, though; they never had anything shipped to the house until after my work hours, not wanting anything to be left unattended. Still, it was possible time zones had them confused.
I looked through the peephole to find a man holding a plain brown box. I opened the door for him to say, “Delivery for Geo Larson.”
“That’s me.” It definitely wasn’t a delivery from my parents; they would never call me by that name. I scribbled my signature and the delivery man nodded and left.
Once I was back inside, I detached the note taped to the top of the box that read:
I know no one could replace Richard, but I hope this little guy makes you smile. His name’s Pond; James Pond. All my love, Jamal xx
My hand shook as I popped open the top of the box and lifted out a clear bag of water…and a beautiful blue betta fish. My eyes grew misty again as I watched the little fish swim happily in the bag, thinking about the wonderful man who sent it to me.
Jamal didn’t think my attachment was silly. He didn’t think I was weak or dramatic for needing time to process the loss and take care of myself. He encouraged it, and then he did something very special to let me know he was thinking of me, and to lighten my burden. I knew he was very busy at work, but he took the time to make sure I was taken care of, and that meant the world to me. I decided right then that I would do something nice for him as well to show my appreciation and love.
Because I truly did love him, and knew without a doubt that he loved me too. He told me as much, forever lighting a bright spot in a dark time and memory. But even if he hadn’t said the words, he showed me in so many ways; the caring glances he gave at work to make sure my day was going okay, checking to see if I’d eaten, the gentleness of his touch and kisses. And now I had physical proof, swimming laps in my hands.
I carried James to the aquarium, resting the bag into the water so that he floated on top. “There you go, buddy; that’ll let you get used to the water. I know this is a big change, but I promise to take good care of you.” After letting him acclimate for a few minutes, I gently tore a hole in the bag, allowing the water and James to escape into the tank, and removed all the plastic.
He took off like a shot, darting from one end of the tank to the other, exploring his new space. “I’m glad you like your new tank,” I chuckled. “You know, another special fish lived here before you. His name was Richard Swimmins. He knew a few tricks. It’s okay if you don’t want to learn any; I’m just happy to have you here.”
It was a little difficult seeing a new creature in Richard’s space, but cathartic at the same time. Richard would want me to be happy, and to make another little fish happy too. “Are you hungry?” I shook the jar of food, and to my surprise, James flitted up to the surface, staring right at me. “Look how smart you are! Eat up, little guy.”
I sprinkled a few pellets into the water and smiled as he gobbled them up. He waited expectantly, but I shook my head. “That’s all for now; I don’t want you to get a bellyache.” With that, James swam off to explore some more. He was very smart indeed.
In much higher spirits, I decided to put my plan of treating Jamal into action. He would be coming to my place later, but I didn’t want to wait. And I wanted to go to him. He always came to my place, or we went out, but I had yet to see where he lived.
Jamal always skirted around the subject, or told me it wasn’t an inconvenience for him to come to me, even suggesting my place was nicer anyway. But I wanted to show him that none of that mattered to me. I didn’t care about what he had or didn’t have; I only cared about who he was. He accepted all of me, even the quirky parts, and I wanted to make it clear I accepted everything about him as well.
And I may have gotten his address from his file at work. It wasn’t snooping; part of my job was to log new employees’ information. It provided me with the perfect opportunity to surprise him, and show him what was important to me.