_ Believe in Her

María José and I… we'd do anything to remain closer but the universe still wants us apart. For now, that is. 

I closed my eyes, forehead pressing to hers again, letting her scent soak into my lungs. Sweet and warm, like rose petals dipped in sunshine. I could feel her heart thudding against mine; too fast and too scared.

"I don't want to either," I whispered, brushing my nose along hers. "But we have to do this. For us."

Her hands gripped my shirt harder, as if her fingers could claw through the fabric and find the certainty she needed buried inside my ribs. "Why does it always have to be this hard? Why can't we just… I don't know… run away to Portugal and sell churros on the beach?"

Oh, there it was again; the sense of humor. 

"Because," I said with a dry laugh, "I'm terrible at deep-frying. You'd end up widowed by a churro explosion. And… my dear wife, we don't want to end up as feral carnivorous rogues, do we?"