Float On

Part 5

"What is all of this stuff?" I ask while trying to grab some of the bags. I immediately glance above him to check if my name is still floating there and find that it's still solidly in place. Part of me will always be sad every time I see the floating words and messages, but in this case, I surprise myself by finding that I feel comforted that my name is still there with him.

"I have some things for you," he says mysteriously, holding them out of my reach. "Go sit down. I want it to be a surprise."

I turn around so my back is facing him but don't walk away. "Is part of the surprise food? You really can't hide that because I can smell it."

"That's cheating!" Phil protests.

"I have to breath! How is that cheating?"

"Fine," he huffs, "but at least go sit down on the couch and close your eyes, yeah?"

"Ok, but hurry. Whatever you brought smells delicious!"

I wander over to the couch and sit cross-legged on the middle cushion with my eyes closed, listening to all of the rustlings of bags in the kitchen. Shortly, the food smell gets stronger and I can feel the weight of Phil on the couch next to me.

"Open your eyes!" he says excitedly.

I open my eyes and look at amazement at everything on the coffee table. There are two takeout boxes with the best cheeseburgers I've ever seen, plus piles of French fries and two sodas. I can't even remember the last time I've had food like this. On the corner of the table is a potted plant with beautiful bright green leaves. The gifts are simple, but the thought behind them is priceless. Completely overwhelmed with emotion, I glance over at him and see that he's looking back at me expectantly. I throw my arms around him and bury my face in his neck, feeling the tears start to fall down my cheeks.

"Thank you," I finally stammer. "I don't even know what to say."

He pulls away a little bit and looks at my face with a concerned frown. "Are you crying? Don't cry!"

I laugh and brush the tears off with the sleeves of my sweatshirt. "Don't worry, they're good tears. Very good tears."

A look of relief washes over his face. "I'm so glad! I didn't know what you liked on your burger so I just got everything and figured you could pick off what you don't like," he explains, talking quickly. "And there's cheesecake in the refrigerator for dessert and a few other snacks and things so you'll have them to eat next week. Oh, and this plant. I really like plants and have a lot of them so I thought maybe you might like to have one too."

"I love the plant," I say reassuring him. "I'm going to have to remember to leave the blinds open so it can get some light."

"And water it," Phil mumbles back around a giant bite of hamburger.

"I promise," I answer as I hungrily dig into my burger too. With the first bite, my eyes practically roll back in my head. "Is this from the burger place down the street you told me about?"

"Yup," I thought a sample might inspire you to make the trip with me.

I grab the remote and turn Buffy on for him while we eat and his face lights up. I love how happy he gets over the smallest things, which just makes me want to do more things for him. We tear through the huge amount of food quickly and just lay there for a bit, feeling too full to move. Saying nothing, he reaches over and takes my hand weaving our fingers together before briefly squeezing it tightly.

"Do you think you'd be able to draw a picture of me?" he asks randomly.

"What kind of drawing?"