“Honesty is the key to a relationship. If you can fake that, you’re in.”
— Richard Jeni
The Man In RoMANtic
Dear Tad,
This morning I woke to the sounds of your soft breathing. The peach-colored stubborn winter sunrise kissed your face, and made me want to kiss it too.
Beneath the tumble of blankets—the ones I toss upon you during the night when I’m having a hot flash—I know you are wearing the goofy “Hot Stuff†boxers I bought you long ago. They still make me laugh. YOU still make me laugh.
I see your eyelashes flutter and wonder what dreams are carrying you away. I wonder what dream brought us together, and why you love me so unconditionally.
Do you remember the time you said you simply had to have a Dairy Queen Blizzard? We walked to the local DQ, and when I stepped up to the counter to place my order the teenager handed me a dozen roses. From you, to me. You had pre-planned that moment, and my heart melted faster than my hot fudge sundae. Sticky smooches ensued.
It’s not the big gestures that cause me to fall in love with you over and over and over again. It’s the little ones. Like when you leave love messages in soap on our bathroom mirror. Like when I reach beneath my pillow for my pajamas and find some lacey nothing you’ve placed there instead. Like when you fill my car with gas/ open doors/help me with my coat, because you’re a true gentleman. Like when I wake in the morning with smeared mascara and hair from hell and you say, “You’re beautiful,†and mean it.
As I continue to watch your face you stir. You throw an arm around me and pull me in close. Closer. Tight to your heart. And I know there is nowhere else I would ever want to be.
My forever Valentine? He is the best part of my day.
