Chapter 14 - THE LOVE THAT DIDN'T DEMAND
We took things slowly.
Very slowly.
Dinner once a week.
Walks along the lake.
Long conversations.
Sometimes difficult ones.
Vincent didn't pretend his past had disappeared.
I didn't pretend my fear had vanished.
We learned to disagree without hurting each other.
We learned that silence wasn't always rejection.
That independence wasn't abandonment.
That love didn't require surrender.
One evening, Vincent came to my apartment carrying groceries.
I opened the door.
He smiled.
“I thought we could cook.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“Do you know how?”
“No.”
I laughed.
“Then this should be interesting.”
We burned the garlic bread.
Overcooked the pasta.
And somehow managed to make the kitchen look as though a small storm had passed through.
I laughed until my ribs hurt.
Vincent stood beside the stove.
Watching me.
“What?” I asked.
He smiled.
“Nothing.”
“Vincent.”
He stepped closer.
“I love you.”
I stopped laughing.
He looked nervous.
“I don't expect you to say it back.”
I stared.
Then whispered, “I know.”
He nodded.
I stepped closer.
Touched his face.
And smiled.
“I love you too.”
His eyes closed.
Then he kissed me.
Gently.
Carefully.
May you like
Like a man who understood that love was something freely given.
Never taken.
