“Is it now?” he laughs, and the whole room echoes.
“Isn’t it?” I answer with another question. “This crime you were accused of only brought us closer together.”
“That’s true,” he admits. “Up until now, I never thought I could lose everything I have. I thought I would always be able to sort out whatever problem came my way. I don’t care about my company or my wealth. All I care about is Marley… and you.”
“All I care about is Marley and you, too,” I repeat his statement, which in other words, means exactly what we want it to mean: I love you.
He kisses me gently, only for one brief moment. It is more than enough to solidify our kiss, our love.
I press my forehead to his. “We should get out of here before they charge us for public indecency,” I chuckle.
“I could show them public indecency,” he whispers, slapping my butt so hard that it makes me laugh aloud.
“That’s not nice!” I pretend to be offended, but our fingers are still intertwined.
“You’ve always known I’m not nice,” he reminds me, as we head towards the door.
“Actually… that’s true,” I chuckle again, as he brings my hand to his lips and kisses it.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Dominic
I’ve never been to prison before. I never thought I would go, for whatever reason. Then, Lilly came into my life, and took me to places I never thought I would go.
We pass all the checkups, taking off belts, shoes, watches, going through the weirdest beeping machines. It feels like the airport, only much more restrictive.
While I seem slightly nervous, I try not to let it show. She, on the other hand, seems perfectly at ease. You can tell that she’s been coming here for years.
All morning, I tried to prepare myself psychologically for meeting her father. I’ve already met her mother, who is a lovely lady and who welcomed me immediately as her future son-in-law. Honestly, I expected her to be here, with us, when I came to prison for the first time, but her reasoning was that Lilly and I should meet her father alone, just the two of us. Perhaps she’s right.
It's an unusual situation, one that doesn’t allow you much comfort. Usually, you meet the parents in a far more pleasant setting, a restaurant maybe. It allows both parties to feel more at ease, being on neutral grounds. Prison is anything but neutral grounds.
I have to admit, when I was hiring Lilly, this is the last place where I thought I would end up: in prison. Life has a strange way of doing that to you. You expect one thing, then get something completely different. However, eventually you realize that you got exactly what you needed, even though you didn’t even know it was what you needed.
With me, I needed Lilly. I needed her so badly I tried to push her away, exactly because, subconsciously, I recognized that need and it frightened me. Once I let go of that fear, I realized that I am exactly where I need to be, with exactly who I need to be.
A loud noise reminds me where I am at the moment. All these locked doors initially made me nervous, apprehensive but one look at Lilly, and I’m assured that it’s OK. She simply has that effect on people around her. It’s no wonder Marley feels so calm with her.
Lilly takes the lead and I follow. A few of the guards even call her by name, and she asks about their wives, babies, families. I watch her in awe as she maneuvers her way towards the visitation room, where she tells me to take a seat at a table. There are already a few people there, like us. Some of them look nervous, exactly how I’m feeling right now. Others seem more at ease. They’ve grown accustomed to these surroundings.
Lilly takes a seat next to me. The table in front of us is scratched horribly. I think I see some fingerprints, as if someone was too nervous to wait, so he or she was drumming their fingers against the polished surface a little too vigorously. I try not to pay attention to it, but I need a distraction while we wait.
I’m still uneasy, but I want to be here. I hope Lilly can see that. I want to be there for her no matter what. I want her to know that she can count on me for anything, even things that make me slightly uneasy.
“Are you alright?” Lilly leans closer to me and whispers right into my ear. She seems to sense exactly how I’m feeling. I don’t know whether this is a good thing or a bad thing. Probably good but then again, I can’t hide anything from her. Not that I’d want to.
I turn to her, gratefully. “Fine,” I assure her.
She smiles back, and at that moment, a loud buzzer is heard. The heavy, metal, barred doors open, and several men are ushered inside. Two guards take off their handcuffs, and a man approaches us.
He seems freshly shaved, his hair combed nicely. Something tells me he went the extra mile to look good and he does. He seems to be still a young-looking man, especially for the age that Lilly told me he is. His light blue eyes are striking, assuring you that whatever you want to hide from him, is OK. He understands. It’s not a bad thing. On the contrary, it offers some kind of comfort, knowing that whatever secret you might have, his eyes are telling you that it’s all right.
Lilly jumps up from her seat and wraps her arms around his neck. The hug lasts only a second, then she lets go. I’m assuming because of prison rules.
Then, the man turns to me. “I’m Stephen,” he says in a strong but simultaneously kind voice. I wonder how he’s handling prison, if he’s such a nice guy.