Be My Queen (16 page)

She changed her sheets, swept and dusted, and even washed the windows in her room. Then she took the carpet out back and beat the dust out. She separated her dirty clothes into piles, put the piles into sacks, and the sacks into the wagon she would pull to the Laundromat. What should she read? She hated to do laundry alone. Did Diego's apartment have a washer? Did that matter? He was so far away and, despite their plans, she'd probably never see him again.

Her phone beeped. The text was from Diego.
The miles stretch ahead of me, but my heart stayed behind. The next time I make this trip, I want you at my side.

He hadn't forgotten her. Maybe he wouldn't forget her. She gave him a gushy reply, along with a picture of her smiling. Her chest didn't ache so much if he was thinking about her.

He asked her to send him something to read on his next driving break. She thought about it for a while and sent him a picture of a sexy nightgown the girls had talked her into buying that she'd never worn. She said she'd wear it for the first time for him.

She hummed to herself as she walked to the Laundromat. Three months would whiz by, then she'd be in his arms again. The day was beautiful and so was everything in it.

A florist with a full house, RayeAnn Carter manages to write even though her computer moonlights as the family TV.