Page 72 of Cash

“I do.”

It felt good to share my mother’s existence with someone other than the men in the club. She was the only woman I was close to, and I’d spent a lifetime believing she’d be the only one I’d ever care about.

I now questioned my beliefs.

“She had you when she was thirty-one?” she asked.

“Thirty. I’ll be thirty-two in six months. She had me late in life. She’s convinced I was a miracle baby. I told her there are a lot of women who have babies much later in life but arguing with her is like arguing with a rock. She’s stubborn.”

She shifted her gaze to the ocean. “Do you want kids?”

I laughed. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I’ve always hated women. You’re cool, but you’re the only woman I’ve ever met that I can be around for longer than thirty minutes without getting a headache. Having kids is the last thing on my mind. Why?”

“I was just wondering.”

“What about you?” I asked.

“I’d love to be able to have kids,” she said. “I wasted my chance by being married for so long.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m past my prime.”

“Hell, you never know,” I said.

“Actually, I do. I’m six months into menopause.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means I’m unable to have kids. On the upside, I don’t need to worry about birth control.”

The thought of having children in my life made me itch. “I guess the birth control thing’s a plus.”

“What about marriage?” she asked.

“What about it?”

“What are your thoughts in it?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. Growing up in a house with only one parent and having four friends that either had no parents – or one parent – made me kind of look at marriage as a joke. What about you?”

“It’s a sheet of paper that’s as worthless as the lies that are printed on it,” she said.

“Sounds like we’re in agreement on that.” I nodded toward the horizon. “You’re going to miss it.”

She turned toward the ocean and gasped. “I know why they call it Sunset Cliffs. This is going to be amazing.”

As she gazed out at the horizon, I admired the contour of her face. I’d never seen anyone as beautiful as she was. Her beauty was so much more than what could be seen. Each day seemed to expose another quality about her that I found remarkable.

I never would have imagined a woman being an active part of my life, but then again, I never knew women like Kimberly existed. Spending a day without her was a thought I didn’t want to think about.

It was time for me to take the big step. To take our relationship tit he next level.

I brushed her hair behind her ear with the tip of my finger. “Before the sun sets. I want to ask you something.”

She kept her eyes fixed on the multi-colored horizon. When the sun disappeared behind a cloud – just above the horizon – she glanced at me. “Okay.”

“Goose is having his Friday deal on Friday, and I was wondering if you might want to go. Baker’s Ol’ Lady will be there, so there’ll be at least one person you can talk to besides me.”