" A country girl." No, we didn't always live out there, only after momma died and daddy found out that she had a trust fund set up for everyone with m...ney she got from her parents. She never said a word about it." That must have been nice to find out about." Hmm... yes, it helped us out a lot with the funeral expenses and everything else." My family never had to worry about that, we always had money." Must have been nice." Sure, we got everything we ever wanted, it was great." He stated with a. You saw. If that was true, so could be the Secret Garden . . ." Relax Aleem. For all we know, the bartender gave me black sambucca with some bitters in it just so he could sell a drink. There's probably nothing to it."Aleem challenged John's conclusion, "The bottle? How could he know the bottle was said to be ornate?" Coincidence. I bet he's back there having a good laugh that I even drank this concoction." I don't know," Aleem warned.The black liquid imbibed by John did have one effect,. I buried my face into the crook of her neck again, taking in her scent.“My poor baby, a father now.” she sighed. “I do wish we lived closer.”“I love you Mom, I love you so much.” I breathed and then planted a soft, lingering kiss on the base of her neck.“Oh, Tom! I love you too!” she responded, pulling me closer to her as she continued to stroke my head.I planted a series of kisses along her neck, caressing it with my nose.“Uhmmm, its been so long since I’ve had the chance to hold one of my. "He also has a warmth about his face. He can look at you in this way that melts you into your socks, like he really sees you. Not just your face or your clothes, but all the way into your soul. And even though it's kind of scary, his expression makes you believe that he likes you just the way you are." Are you okay?" she asked.Shit, I had to get it under control. "I'm fine, just didn't sleep very well," I said, smiling even wider. "You need to meet him, Steph. I'll take him to the mall on.