Losing You

Chapter 12

Delilah

The pier is about 45 minutes away, and the night ride is amazing. I miss being on the back of a bike. We arrive, park and start walking towards the boardwalk. It is alive and buzzing, like always. We walk around, and I point out so much to him. Every place I love here. I bring him down some stairs, to my absolute favorite place. The swings in the sand. I never had siblings, so when my family would get competitive in the arcade, my dad brought mom and I down here. We would sit here, and he would push us to the sky. It was always perfect.

I tell Bryant the story. I don't even know why. Maybe it's because he is a good listener, and he told me about his siblings? He makes it easy to get me to open up.

He smiles and tells me to sit. "I know it's not the same thing, but I will push you high into the sky," he says and starts pushing me. I am in tears from the laughter. "Stop, stop. I can't take it anymore," I scream as I start feeling dizzy and nauseous with how high and fast I am going now that he pushes me so hard and high up. Eventually, I slow down and use my feet to come to a complete stop. We talk a little longer, then we go walk around more as we get to know each other much more personally.

I take him to see all the live performers and the fishermen. Then I take him to my favorite restaurant here. Gale's seafood shack. "Please tell me you aren't allergic to shellfish," I say, but not worried, because they sell other options. I do know some people can't even tolerate the smell though, so I have to ask. "I'm okay with shrimp and some fish. I'm not allergic though, so you can order, and I'll try whatever you think is good." I smile and nod. "Can't believe you are trusting me with food. I do have the best taste buds though," I joke.

He opens the door for me like a complete gentleman. He literally makes my heart beat faster. "Is that who I think it is? Why we haven't seen you around here in ages. Delilah, my pretty girl. It's so good to see you." Carmen, Gale's wife rushes over and gives me a big hug. "Hi Carmen. I brought a friend here today to show him around and get the best seafood this place has to offer." She chuckles and looks at Bryant. "Friend, huh? Well, friend. This is the best seafood in town, and in my honest opinion, the world. We make everything here fresh and with love," she tells him. "Perfect, can't wait to try."

We get our drinks and the food comes right after. We chat and eat. I quickly realized that he isn't a foodie like I am. He is actually picky, but he tries some things he says he has not tried before. Most being vegetables. He is tripping. "Did you not like the seafood?" he chuckles. "My grandma always made me eat my veggies first, so it's a habit." I dip my crab meat in the sauce and slurp it up. "It's bomb, Here, have some," he doesn't pull away or acts disgusted when my dirty hands feed him some crab dipped in the spicy garlic sauce. His eyes widen. "Mmm, this is actually good." He swallows, then starts coughing. "And spicy," he adds. "Wait until the club makes seafood boil on family days," now, that is my jam. I love seafood, and my grandma is the best chef ever.

I feed him some fish, shrimp and scallops. Carmen comes over to check on us. "So, friend, what do you think?" she giggles. "Amazing. You weren't lying. This is the best seafood I have ever had. So fresh, and this sauce. Do you have it less spicy?" She giggles again. "Coming right up, friend," she winks at him. I shake my head and scream. "Don't let Gale see you flirting," she breaks out in a loud laughter.

Venom

"I am stuffed," I tell Delilah. I ask Carmen for the check and pay it. I add a generous tip. She was an amazing host/server, and everything was perfect. I don't think I have ever enjoyed a meal the way I did tonight. Not just the meal though. The company made this date. Was this a date? I think about everything we have done, and I would call this our first date. I just won't say it to her so she won't be scared off. I want to get to know Delilah more. So far there is nothing about her, I don't like.

We head back out. We find a person who is doing live caricatures, and she tells me we have to get one made. "For memories," she says as she sits in the empty seat. I look around and some of these paintings are wild. I'm already an ugly mother*cker. I can't imagine what this man is about to do to me. F*ck, but I won't say no to her, so I take a seat.

The guy gets to work, and we just chat and get to know each other more. I quickly realize that she loves to talk. I also realize she has a ton of trauma. What I think has been caused by her father abandoning her and her mother. She gets real sad and speaks lower when she brings her dad up, but she lights up when she talks about Monster, who I find out his real name is Alex.

I find out what a selfless man he is. She actually opens up and tells me about her family. She tells me that Monster took her grandma in with 3 kids and loved her, and they built a family when her grandmother's first husband, her real grandfather, was crappy to her, her mother and her siblings. She pulls out her phone, and she begins showing me family pictures. She hands me her phone and tells me I can scroll. Her gallery is filled with pictures of so many people. Her, and her mom, and some pop up with a man. "Is this your father?" she nods. "You look like your mom, you just have his skin color." I tell her. Her phone vibrates with a message, so I hand her phone back to her. She laughs and responds and puts her phone away.

"So, what do you think of the pier?" she asks me. "I see why your uncle likes this place. There's so much to do, and the food is excellent. I keep complimenting everything, but I realize she isn't responding anymore. She is looking straight forward with wide eyes. "Delilah," I tap her, because why is she stuck? She stands up and even the man drawing us asks her if she is alright. I try to look where she is looking, but there's so many people over there. I have no idea what is going on, and it is stressing me out. I like knowing what's happening at all times.

"That man looks just like my dad, but it can't be him, can it?" she looks at me and her sad, watery eyes tug at my heart.

"Let's go find out," I hear myself telling her. I don't know why I even say those words, but she starts moving that way, so I chase behind her. "Wait, your picture is done," I pay the man, grab the picture and follow behind her.

"Delilah, Delilah," I shout, but her body is moving fast. I begin jogging. I accidently bump into people. "Sorry, I'm sorry," I say quickly. "Delilah," I finally catch up to her.

"It's him, Bryant. It's my dad...But, who is that woman all over him?" The fire in her eyes lets me know that some sh1t is about to go down, but I got her back.