DREAM by Mary Smith

to make you comfortable, too. This is new for me. I’ve never been married. When you’re father and I discussed this, I don’t think I thought of everything that came after the actual ceremony. I’m forty-three and I feel like I don’t know anything about being married or being in a relationship. The one thing I promised your dad was I wouldn’t push you, and I would let you set our timeline.”
    “You did?” I gasp.
    “I gave him my word. I also told him I would always protect you, too.”
    My heart swells at Gable’s confession. He’s keeping his promise to my dad.
    “Thank you, Gable.”
    “You’re welcome, Dream.”
    We sit on the bench for a few moments with only the sounds of the park around us.
    “I’m sorry I’m an emotional mess, but I’m not going to apologize for yelling at Gideon,” I finally say.
    “I think you’re handling everything well, and I understand why you said what you did to Gideon. I’ve talked to him and he understands where I stand and he won’t treat you like that again. Now, can we agree to move forward from this point on?”
    I nod. “Yes.”
    “Will you come home?”
    “I will.”
    Gable takes my hand. “You’ve worked all day. How about we go and grab some dinner?”
    “Perfect. Yearwood’s?”
    “Nope.” He stands and pulls me with him. “Somewhere better.”
    We walk together hand-in-hand to the waiting SUVs. Leo hops out and I can see that he’s concerned.
    “Dream,” he comes up to me.
    “I’m going to go with Gable, but our arrangement stands.” I answer him.
    “What arrangement?” Gable looks at us both.
    “Leo will be taking me back and forth to work from now on.” I inform him.
    “Oh.” He looks between us. “All right. Come on.”
    I smile at Leo and as Gable holds the door open for me, I slide in. Bruce takes off toward the other side of town. Gable still holds my hand as the car stops at a Mexican restaurant.
    “This is the best food in town,” he says, opening the door.
    “I’ve never been here. In fact, I’m not sure I’ve ever visited this side of town.” I look around at the dilapidated buildings.
    “Trust me.” Gable tugs on my arm, and I follow him in.
    We walk into a small restaurant that smells of cheese and grease. It’s not appealing; the colors on the wall range from yellow to green to red. There are more pictures, trinkets, and knick-knacks around the room than I’ve ever seen before. There are only small tables that are as mismatched as the chairs.
    Gable pulls a seat out for me and I take it. He points to what I thought was a placemat that is actually a menu.
    “I’m getting the taco meal.” He shows me on the menu.
    “Three tacos, rice, and beans.” I read the description. “That sounds good.”
    A waiter came over and Gable orders for us, in Spanish.
    “I didn’t know that you spoke other languages.”
    “I do.”
    “Just Spanish?”
    “Yes, although I’m thinking about learning Japanese. Do you speak any other languages?”
    “I learned French in high school, but I don’t remember much of it. What are we doing here?”
    Gable looks around. “I want you to know me better and maybe this will help.”
    “All right.” That didn’t answer my question and I’m not sure what he’s looking at.
    “I grew up on this side of town. My dad worked at the tire plant for over thirty years. My mother stayed home and would hem and alter clothes to make some side money. My parents worked hard for a little bit of money and I swore that I wouldn’t be that way.”
    His blue eyes connect with mine.
    “I’ve done a lot of things in my life I regret, but I do a lot to make amends for it. Gideon and I ran the streets, with shady people all the way up through our teenage years. I changed my life around when I was fifteen and was arrested for shoplifting. I promised myself I would be a better person. I started working harder and taking my schoolwork more serious and then…” He stretches out his hand as if this