Life changes in an instance. One week, you're preparing for an incredible trip to Europe to train wrestlers alongside your wife, eager to explore with her, experience new, beautiful things. The next, you're watching as more and more illness is reported, things sounding dire the longer it all goes on. You can see the writing on the wall, staring blankly at the calendar with your scheduled events penciled in- Alicia's own plans scrawled out alongside yours.
You think between the two of you, you'll be alright, but it's complicated and you feel shaky as you consider long term prospects of it all. It's something most people today have never been through, a hard hitting pandemic like this, and you're not sure where to turn to, what to do to stave off what might be coming. Alicia joins you after a moment and you absently hold onto her, feeling her fingers anxiously drum against yours. She looks at you after a moment and breathes out, "Are we going to be ok?"
"Si," you say simply. "We will." You can't fully swear to it, things are going to get serious quickly, it seems, but you've survived plenty of bad in your life- health wise, financial wise, everything in between. You can't consider anything else right now. Any other outcome. She stares into your eyes and forces a smile onto her trembling lips, leaning in to kiss you. "I love you," you tell her and she nods, hands warm against your cheeks as she presses closer.
"I love you too," she murmurs against your mouth and you slowly reach over to shut the TV off, holding onto her. Once the room is quiet, only the sound of your breaths mingling together, your heart beating loudly at each kiss and touch shared between the two of you audible, she shakes her hair loose, dropping a hairtie onto the table as she lightly pushes you past it, sending you down onto the couch with an awkward sort of thump. She smiles and settles down on top of you, smoothing your hair back and kissing you again.
The sun is gleaming through the window onto her, making her skin glisten and shine, and for a moment you can pretend that there's nothing wrong, that everything's status quo, and she closes her eyes, exhaling slowly. "Ricardo," she breathes out.
"Alicia," you echo, and she smiles down at you, leaning back down to kiss you, lips parting in a soft sigh that tickles your skin. You take the opportunity to hold her close and tease her with soft, slow licks that draws out a low moan from her, softly sighing as she shifts and glides her hand under your shirt, over your skin, pausing at each scar she feels from the years you've spent playing various sports before settling on wrestling.
"Say it again," she says, a quiet sort of plea. "Please, say it again."
You stare at her, quiet and watchful. "We are going to get through this."
She nods, releasing another breath before slowly easing your shirt off over your head. "Thank you," she murmurs, pressing a tender, lingering kiss right over your heart.
It leaves you a little breathless and overwhelmed, your nerves slowly settling the longer she grazes your fresh with her lips, her teeth, her fingertips. They may have started as pretty words meant to console her, but the longer she lingers over your chest and ribs, the more you know they have to be true.
There's just no other option that makes sense.