"1-4-3"

Raul waved at me from afar as I stood on the porch, waving back. Then he did something I did not understand. He rose his right hand towards me and lifted one finger. Then he raised four fingers and, finally, three fingers.
“1-4-3? Huh?” I said out loud.
He didn’t hear me and so he took off in his car before I could ask what he meant.
Next time I see him, I thought.
A few hours later he text me what I wanted for dinner.
“I’m not sure,” I text back.
“Let me know soon.” Raul responded. Then a few minutes later he text me “143.”
I frowned. I needed to know soon.
Best to ask him face to face, I thought.
We ended up ordering Chinese food for dinner. As we sat on the couch I spoke: “We have a problem.”
“What is that?” Raul asked as he bit into his food.
“What does 1-4-3 mean? I’m confused.”
I watched Raul as he munched on his food, staring at me. Almost as if he was contemplating on what to say next. Then he said: “Are you sure you want to know?
I chuckled nervously and nodded. Raul straighten up, reached for my hands, looked into my eyes and said: “One stands for ‘I.’ Four stands for ‘l-o-v-e.’ and three stands for y-o-u. ”
I felt my stomach do a flip flop, my heart suddenly racing. Did he say what I thought he said?
“Are you saying that you love me?”
He laughed and nodded.
“Really?” I said with excitement.
“Yes, really, really.”
I cried out in happiness as I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him. Nothing would ever be the same.



word count:286