We continue talking about the particulars of the shelter as we head home. Atlas stops in the middle of his sentence and turns the music up. Once the song goes off he hits replay on his phone.
“Did you listen to this song?”
“Not really,” I say
“I did, and it is everything I feel about you. Listen to the words,” he implores.
So I do. By the time the song is over, I am in tears and gazing at him with all the love I feel for him. Is Atlas a nice man? To other people no, but he is my knight in shining armor. He is everything I didn’t know I wanted or needed in my life. If I had to go through that beating just to meet him I would do it a million times just to get to him. The scar and the attitude, if other people couldn’t see past it they have severely cheated themselves because Atlas is the type of man anyone would love to have in their corner. And the type of man that any woman would be proud to claim as her own. The words of the song match both of us and say exactly how I feel for him too. God, I love this man, he has shown me another side of life. A side where I am accepted, where family is a real thing, and that I am worthy of a real, bone-deep love.
“What is the name of the song, Atlas?”
“Next to Me” by Imagine Dragons,” he tells me. He puts the song on repeat and we listen to it all the way home.
When we get back to the compound I am almost nervous as to what we’re going to find on the other side of the door but instead, we see everyone over at the banquet hall. I look at Atlas remembering our skate session and how we had to throw out both chairs, the table, our clothes and do a deep clean of the place and I am blushing to my roots. When we get in there we see dinner is set up.
“It’s not Tuesday,” Atlas says. As we look around at the pinatas and taco table set up. Jaasiel has two eight-foot tables placed together covered in a plastic table cloth and aluminum foil on top of that with ground beef, chicken, barbacoa beef, steak, birria beef, and pork in the center of the tables. On either side of the meat is lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, onions, jalapeno peppers, cilantro, guacamole, lime, and pico de gallo. There are soft shells, hard shells, and taco bowls, lime-cilantro rice. Margaritas, alcoholic and non-alcoholic, tequila, peach, raspberry, mango, and passionfruit lemonade.
“I felt like tacos,” Jaasiel says.
Soon everyone is seated at the dinner table that’s been set up and we are stuffing our faces, laughing and talking. I look around the table and for the first time in my life feel like I have a family. I lean over to Jabarri, “I need your help with something if you don’t mind” I whisper to him.
“Find me after dinner and I’ll help you,” he tells me with no hesitation.
I nod and find my hand in Atlas’ without me remembering reaching for him.
“Did you call the kids and Peter?” Josh asks Savvy.
“I did, they said they’d be here but maybe something came up.”
“Do you want to call them?” he asks.
“No, they know how to get here,” she says “your problem is you’re missing feeling like a father and you need a fix. And we all know Peter does what he wants. ”
“I…. he begins when the door opens to all three of Savvy’s kids coming in.
“Hey family,” they say at the same time.
“Where’s my babies?” Altas asks Saint. They’re with her other grandparents.
Atlas rolls his eyes and grumbles.
They head to the restroom to wash their hands and head to the table to make tacos.
A few minutes later another man walks in, I remember him from the hotel. He walks over to Jag and shakes his hand and immediately pulls Savvy up from her chair and wraps her in a hug she warmly returns.
“Peter you have been neglecting me,” Savvy says with a pout.
“You know I could never neglect you little one. I was busy with company business. I am debating on opening an affordable luxury hotel. Your husband is a bad influence on me.” Peter says.
He turns to me and says, “Aww you must be True, I am Peter the owner of the hotel you were staying at while this guy,” throwing his thumb in Atlas’ direction, “was being a scared baby.
“I wasn’t scared.” Atlas’ grumbles
“Right, and why was she at my hotel for a month? He looks at Atlas with one eyebrow raised?
“I had to work some things out, that’s all,” he says.
“Scared, you had to go find the balls you misplaced somewhere before you could come get your woman”