Love and Marigolds

There she sat in her cozy pink sweater, her bottom half covered by the blue wooly throw blanket, transfixed on the screen in front of her and the love story it displayed. She asked herself internally and wondered, why can’t that be me? Why can’t I be loved like that? Why couldn’t her life mirror this fictional one? Was she destined to feel as if she was unloveable and unworthy of true happiness?

As she sat and wondered all of this, he sat there beside her, suffering through a poorly acted, poorly scripted half hour. But it didn’t matter how terrible it was or how long it lasted. He only watched it because it made her happy and all the cheesiness that made her swoon, all the things that she wished she could feel was exactly how he felt about her. He was lost in her beauty, those eyes sparked like a diamond in the sun, the way her nose crinkled every time she laughed and that smile, my god that smile. No words could capture the essence of how breathtaking that smile was.

“If only she could smile at me like that” he thought. Does she know how deep my love runs, how much she means to me? Does she know that at the drop of a dime I would rip the moon from the sky just for her? When I show affection and express my undying gratitude for her does she realize that the fairytale she wishes for is right in front of her and not on some screen or in some book but physically right here in the flesh and blood yearning to be seen, pleading to be heard, dying for reciprocation.

He wondered all this in the hours he spent gazing at her, yet all she could muster in return is “stop staring at me” or “can you not”. When he attempts a kiss she pulls away, when he opens for an embrace she responds with the feeling of being annoyed and just wanting to be left alone. Although they loved each other, the way they loved each other was very different. The miscommunication and disconnection slowly tore his heart to shreds causing him to withdraw and lash out. In turn it made her feel as if he was nothing more then a brute and he needed to work on how he handled situations better.

Somehow separate yet together they tiptoed around each other wishing the other would take the steps needed to progress their relationship. As he sat there wondering if she actually understood how deeply he felt about her he also contemplated if he should attempt to set the mood for a little romance. Attempt to in a way recreate the passion that encapsulated her deeply on tv. But before he could even muster the strength to move his body to hers, a cry rings out.

“Ugh! Why?” She exhaustedly let out. “She’s only been asleep for two hours, if she doesn’t go back to sleep then we’ll never get any sleep later. We’ll be up all night with her and I’m already so tired.” She says then gently places her hand on his and gives him the sweetest look of desperation. “Could you go check on her please?” She asks. “Yeah I got it” he replied. “You don’t have to pause or rewind it, just tell me what happens” he says as a way to make it seems as if he’s just as interested in the show as her. He gets up from the couch and heads down the hall to his daughters room.

He opens the door and with a soothing calmness says “hey sweet girl, what’s wrong? Bad dream?” Through the darkness a sweet little voice with a hushed rasp response. “Where’s mommy?” He steps in the room, sits at the edge of the bed & brushes a strand of hair from her face. “She’s resting sweetie, but I’m here.” Her eyes shoot up with a sense of longing as she replies. “But I want mommy.” He takes a deep breath. “I know sweetie but mommy needs to rest. But I’m here.” She drops her head into her fathers chest and after sometime they both fall asleep.

He awakes a few hours later and gently rolls her over and covers her with her frozen themed blanket. When he returns to the living room his wife was snuggled on the couch with the blue woolly blanket tucked under her chin. “She looks so peaceful.” He thinks to himself then proceeds to sit next to her. His mind starts racing, his heart starts pounding and his eyes well up as he sits in pure admiration of his wife. Although they’ve only been married for four years they’ve actually known each other since they were twelve. They met in sixth grade math class, she sat behind him in class and they quickly grew to be close friends.

The following year is when he fell for her. They were in a play together and she was on stage running her lines in rehearsal, he was back stage prepping for his scene. Once it was time for him to go on he took one step from behind the curtain, took one look at her and all at once the world came together. Everything made sense, why they were so close, why they understood each other better then anyone else and why they made each other so happy. It was like a 20 foot wave washing over him. He was in love and he knew without a doubt that this girl, his best friend, she was the love of his life.

The next morning when she woke up she was surprised to see a fresh hot cup of coffee made exactly how she liked it. Beside it was a crystal vase that danced when the sunlight hit it. Inside the vase was the most vibrant, most beautiful bouquet of marigolds, her favorite flower. Her face lit up as she smiled from ear to ear. She sat up and took in a slow deep inhale of the flowers. Just then from the other room she could hear the clinking of pots and pans and music playing. She tossed the blanket beside her and got up to see what was going on.

When she reached the kitchen she saw her husband and daughter making pancakes, eggs and bacon. Her heart melted in this moment, she did everything she could to keep the tears from running down her cheek. As she stood there in awe, her daughter looked up and yelled. “Surprise! Good Morning Mommy! We made you breakfast!” Her husband looks up and smiles. “I see, I see.” She says as she wipes the tears from her cheeks and fully enters the room. She kisses her daughter on the head, then her husband on the lips as they share a loving glance.

“Good morning beautiful.” He says with the sweetest smile. “What’s all this for?” She asks. “No reason. Just wanted to show you our love and do something special for you.” Once the foods ready they set the table and all sit to eat this morning feast. “The flowers are beautiful by the way.” She says to her husband. “I remember that marigolds are your favorite. Finish up we’ve got another surprise for you.” She stares in confusion and asks. “What surprise?” He chuckles. “Well if I told you then it wouldn’t be a surprise.” He clears the tables and does the dishes as his wife and daughter get ready.

They head out and before he reveals the surprise they drop off their daughter to her grandmothers house. “We’ll be back in a couple of hours.” He tells the grandmother before they drive off. Along the way he plays a medley of all her favorite songs and enjoys the one woman concert as she belts out every tune. The music was a perfect distraction, she has no idea where they’re going. They pull up to a red brick building and she looks around in bewilderment. “Uh, what are we doing here?” He shuts the car off. “Do you know where we are?” He asks. “Yeah this is our old middle school, but why are we here?”

He reaches in the back seat and pulls out a light blue hand painted wooden box. He hands it to her. “Open it up and read the first letter.” She nervously takes the wooden box, opens it then begins to read a hand written letter with the number one on the envelope. By the time she reaches the end of the letter she’s sobbing uncontrollably. She can barely speak but gives him a loving, questioned glance. “Like the letter said, this is where it all began. Were we fell in love.” He takes her hand in his. “I know things have been rough between us lately but I want you to know how deeply, truly, madly in love I am with you.”

He goes on to explain how they are about to embark on a journey today to all the most important landmarks in their relationship. Where they met, their first date, their first kiss, where he asked her to marry him and so on. At each stop she was to open the wooden box and read the next letter. They also took a picture at each stop to commemorate the moment. Also at each stop she received a long stem red rose. Six stops later they reach their last destination. As they pull up to the open field she spots a few familiar faces. It’s her mother & her daughter eagerly awaiting their arrival.

“Mommy!” Her daughter yells as they run into each other’s embrace. “We made a picnic mommy, look!” Her daughter points to a spot further down the field where a wicker picnic basket sits atop a red and white checkered blanket. Another bouquet of marigolds sit in a small vase beside the food. She clips the ends of the roses and combines them with the marigolds. They laugh and enjoy the food as he tells her how he stayed up all night planing and writing the letters in an effort to emulate the shows that capture her heart.

She smiles at the bouquet and her family as she realizes that she doesn’t need the on screen love. She knows now that she is loved greater then any fictional love story and although he may not be perfect, her husband is her real life Prince Charming. Their love is the truest form of love and no show, movie or book could ever top what they share.