Chapter 25
Elias stood outside the building with his family, Tony, Michael, Mickey, Willa, Nesiah, Javier, and Ricardo as they waited for Eri and Avian to come out after graduation.
The ceremony had been packed, and they figured it would be easier for the two to find them outside.
It wasn’t long before they trickled out, joining them.
Elias handed her the bouquet, and she kissed him before congratulations went around.
He, like the rest of the tattoo artists, moved all their appointments to later dates since Marco had decided two weeks ago that the shop would be closed for the day.
They took pictures for the next ten minutes before they headed to the parking lot.
Elias walked her to her dad’s car and opened the passenger door.
“You don’t want me to ride with you?” she asked.
“Ride with your dad, Amate. He’s only in town for a few hours, and I get to have you for the rest of the weekend.” He kissed her forehead before she got into the car, and he closed the door.
His Zia Lorna had reserved a table at one of Avian and Eri’s favorite restaurants after asking how many people would be there celebrating both women.
When he pulled into the restaurant’s parking lot, he found a parking spot beside his uncle’s car.
The two older couples rode together and they headed to the front.
The five stood outside the doors as they waited for the rest of their party to arrive.
Once everyone was in attendance, they went inside and were led to the reserved tables.
Several conversations broke out around the table after their orders were placed, and Elias split his attention between the conversation between himself, Eri, Marco, and Avian, and the one with his mother and Tony.
He knew his mother well enough to know she would try to plan some sort of family vacation, even though he’d already told her not to rush his relationship.
“Avi, you didn’t invite your mom?” Eri asked.
“Nope. She still doesn’t respect my marriage, so she doesn’t get access to me,” she responded with a shrug. “I’m not missing out on anything with her not being here. We both know she would try to take credit for my graduating, or make it about herself somehow.”
While Elias had never met Avian’s mother and wasn’t privy to the depth of their relationship, he knew what had gone down between the woman and his cousin when the two met. It was crazy how often people judged one another without knowing them.
“True,” Eri agreed. “Besides, you’re surrounded by people who care about you.”
“She sent a present,” Mickey said from where she sat beside Avian. “She looked up when it was and dropped a gift off at Mama’s a few days ago. I’m surprised she didn’t show up.”
“She might have, and you didn’t see her,” Elias pointed out.
In his way of thinking, if her mom went through the trouble of sending a gift, she might have shown up and remained unseen.
“Maybe, but if she did, why would she send a gift?” Avian asked. “She could have brought it herself.”
“Would you have talked to her? Taken it from her?” Elias countered.
“Not unless she was there to apologize, and it was sincere.” Avian paused. “I see your point.”
They continued to converse throughout lunch, and the two cakes his zia had delivered to the restaurant ahead of time. When they exited the building, Elias walked Eri to her dad’s car.
“Are you coming over?” she asked.
“In a few hours. I told you, Amate. I get to have you the rest of the weekend, and I have plans for us.”
She smiled at him before rising on her toes. Elias kissed her before opening the door and saying bye to Tony. When they pulled out of the parking space, he went to his car and headed home.
When he arrived at Eri’s apartment a few hours later, he took his bag into the bedroom and pulled out the jewelry box on top before joining her in the living room. Elias passed her the box.
“What’s this?” she asked.
“A graduation present.”
He watched her open it, and she smiled before kissing him. “Thank you, baby,” she replied, pulling the bracelet out of the box. It matched the pressed-flower necklace he’d gotten her for her birthday. “Will you put it on me?”
He took the jewelry as she held her arm out and secured it around her wrist.
“You said we had plans this weekend. What are we doing?” Eri asked, draping her legs over his lap.
“Tonight, we’re going to pick up dinner and watch the light show they’re putting on in the park.”
“And tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow is a surprise.”
She pouted momentarily. “You want to give me a hint?” she questioned with a hopeful smile.
Elias chuckled. “You’ll need your helmet.”
“You weren’t kidding when you said you were trying to make riding with you my new addiction.”
“No, I wasn’t, Amate.”
She hummed. “What time are we leaving?”
Elias glanced at his watch. “At eight.”
Eri nodded. “Oh! I ordered you something last week, and it came yesterday.”
She got up, and Elias watched her head into her bedroom.
His phone vibrated, pulling his attention.
It was a message request on his social media from someone wanting to do a consultation for a tattoo.
He made a mental note to reply to them on Monday.
It wasn’t like he’d schedule it for that weekend if he responded right then.
He put his phone aside as Eri came back with a box, and Elias furrowed his brow. She set it on his lap before retaking her seat. He opened it, pulling out the contents wrapped in plastic. Eri took the box from him and moved it as he pulled the motorcycle bag out of the wrapping.
“I saw it while I was looking for furniture, and it matched your bike. You said you wanted to get a bigger one than the one you have now.”
He had said that, but it had only been a passing statement when they’d been trying to make things they’d picked up while riding one day fit.
“Thank you, baby.” He kissed her temple.
“You’re welcome. I hope it isn’t too big. I wasn’t sure of the dimensions of the one you have, but I know this one is bigger. It said it was a medium on the site.”
“It’ll fit perfectly.”
He placed it aside as she grabbed the remote, draping her legs back over his lap. They had a couple of hours to kill, and he knew she’d continue the series they’d started together a few days ago.
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Eri took in the scenic beauty as Elias wound through a back road she was sure she could never find on her own.
They’d been riding for almost two hours, and she’d been able to keep up with where they were going until they’d made it out of Santa Fe.
He’d gotten off on a back road, and she hadn’t seen a sign since, and only two other vehicles.
She’d been trying to be patient, but curiosity was getting the best of her. Just as Eri was about to ask him where they were going, they rounded the bend, and she was immediately reminded of the scene painted on the wall of his shop.
It was breathtaking imagery that he’d captured damn near perfectly.
When she’d seen it on the wall, she’d felt like she was there.
Now that she was, it gave the feeling of being free.
A feeling she knew was only compounded by the freedom of being on the motorcycle.
Eri doubted she would have the same sense of immersion were she in a car.
After several minutes, he pulled off onto a road.
They passed a sign Eri couldn’t make out, and about half a mile later, they were pulling into a little town.
He took a right at the first turn they came to and pulled into the parking lot of a restaurant.
Elias helped her off the bike, and Eri removed her helmet.
She took in the brightly colored building and cute sign as she adjusted the straps on her backpack.
“Where are we?” she asked, handing him her helmet to lock up.
“Penasco,” he responded.
Eri had never heard of it, but it was a quaint little town from what she’d seen of it.
“We’re going to order lunch to go, and then I’m taking you there,” he told her, pointing to a landscape of elevated trees.
They entered the restaurant, and she took in the decor. It was eccentric and welcoming. There were a few people seated at tables, eating or waiting for food. Elias led her to the counter, where they took a couple of minutes to look at the menu before ordering.
As they waited, Eri ventured to the mounted bookshelf in the establishment’s corner and looked through the variety of books.
She took out one about Spanish art and sat on the stool beside the shelf.
Elias joined her a minute later, looking at the book’s title before leaning against the wall beside her.
“How did you find this town?” she asked, flipping through the pages.
“I was riding one day, with no destination in mind, and decided to get lost for a while. I took several roads I hadn’t taken before and ended up here. I’ve found a few places that way.”
“We should get lost together,” she responded, looking up at him.
“Whenever you want to, baby.”
When their food was ready, they placed the bottled drinks in the side pocket of the backpack before putting the two bags of food inside. It now made sense why he’d asked her to bring an empty backpack.
It didn’t take them long to go where Elias wanted to take her. He pulled off the dirt road and drove on the flat plain right in front of the tree line until they could overlook the entire town. He pulled a blanket out of his motorcycle bag and spread it out.
Once they were situated with food around them, she took in the beauty of their surroundings, and she couldn’t help but take her phone out and snap a few pictures. Nature had always intrigued her because it was such a funny thing. Sometimes serene and beautiful. Other times, chaotic and ugly.
“Take a picture with me,” she requested. One turned into six before Eri put her phone away. “It’s so pretty here,” she said, picking up the wrap she’d ordered. “I wonder how long the town has been here.”
“A long time,” Elias responded. “Three small Spanish settlements founded it in the late 1700s.” Eri raised a questioning brow at him. “After I found it, I looked it up. I wanted to know about the little gem I’d stumbled on.”
They ate in comfortable silence for a few moments. The sounds of birds and the wind rustling through the trees played as a soft melody.
“Did you find all the furniture you wanted?”
“For the most part,” Eri responded. “The bedroom furniture will be delivered on Friday, and everything else over the course of the following week.”
Since she currently lived in campus housing, none of the major furniture belonged to her, and she had to go shopping to furnish her new apartment.
She was moving the following weekend, and wanted to ensure that, if nothing else, the bed she’d chosen made it there before she did.
She was fine with everything else trickling in slowly.
“I’ll come by when I finish working on Friday, and put it together for you. Don’t try to do it yourself.”
Eri laughed. “Trust me, I won’t. This is exactly what boyfriends are for,” she teased.
Elias chuckled. “If you say so, Amate. Do you need help packing this week?”
“I think I can manage. Since none of the furniture belongs to me, aside from small accent pieces, it should be fairly easy.”
He nodded. “Okay. We’ll be there on Saturday morning. My dad was all too happy to lend us his truck.”
Since most of what she was moving would be boxes, she hadn’t thought it necessary to rent a moving truck. She figured that between her car, Avian’s, and Elias’, they could get everything packed inside. However, Lorenzo letting them borrow his truck was appreciated.
“I’ll have to do something nice for him,” Eri said.
“Bring him any baked goods, and he’ll be putty in your hands.”
She hummed. “What about his son? What do I have to do for him to be putty in my hands?”
Elias smirked at her. “Who said I wasn’t already, Amate?”
She smiled at him, shaking her head playfully. “Good to know, baby.”
They finished their lunch, packed the trash into the backpack, and Elias pulled her to lie with him. As they watched the clouds, Eri couldn’t help but feel a sense of calm.