a real life love story

Once there was a girl who was young and had long blonde hair.  And there was a boy who was also young with spiky blonde hair.  They went to high school together and despite the fact (or maybe because of the fact) that he was two grades younger than the girl; the boy tried shamelessly to get her attention.  Everyday they pretended to ignore the magnets in their hearts, until finally the girl flirtaciously blew a kiss to the boy.  The girl watched with delight as the boy moved his eyes all around the air until he threw up his hand and grabbed the girls floating kiss and smacked it on his cheek.  With a grin on her face, the girl realized, there he is.  That one is mine.







Finally, two days before Christmas, in the falling snow outside of her parents house, lit by a lamppost, they had their first kiss.  Electricity passed between them.  She went into the house and flitted up the stairs humming herself to sleep with every love song she could think of.  They made up little holidays and shared each others' desserts.  They stole kisses behind the locker doors and held hands down the hallways.  She painted his jersey numbers on her cheeks and he wrote her love notes.

Then they grew up a little bit and went to colleges five hours apart.  And she made friends and he made friends and they introduced each other to their new friends.  And she learned Spanish and he played basketball and they fell asleep with their cellphones next to their heads.  And they watched Prisonbreak together over the phone.  She sent him care packages and he answered the phone in the middle of the night when she woke up from a nightmare.  And they said more times than they could ever count, I miss you.

And then because they were far apart and because they were young and foolish; they decided to see if there was anyone nearby that could make them laugh and smile too.  So the boy tried to be with other girls but no one was as funny or patient as his girl.  And the girl tried to be with other boys but no one made her laugh or was as understanding as her boy.  So they said, I'm sorry and you are forgiven and they said sometimes it is hard, but the good is so good that the hard isn't that hard.

And then the girl moved even farther away to a very big city to do what she loves and the boy was happy for her.  And he drove six hours to visit her with his muddy boots and camo shirts and she took him to museums and broadway shows and they ate brunch in parks.  And he wondered where the trees were and she pulled him along the sidewalk because he walked too country slow in the big city.  She sent him love letters in the mail and he talked to her while she was walking home alone at night.  And they said, I miss you, more than once a day.

And then on Christmas eve (six years after their first kiss), the boy got down on his knee and asked the girl to be his wife.  And she said yes and laughed. 

And then they moved in together in a very small apartment in a very small town.  And they picked a pizza place and got a joint checking account and tasted each others' cooking.  And they realized that she likes to cook quick and he likes to cook slow.  And she frowned when he threw his wet towels on the bed and he frowned when she left her teabags in the cups.  And he had good places to hunt and fish and she missed the city, but not as much as she had missed him.  And they said; I like living with you even though its hard sometimes.

And then she wore a white dress and he wore a camo vest and they said; for better or worse, I will love you. 

And then they added some animals to their family to see if they could take care of life together.  And so they got a cat, and the boy stayed up at night to bottlefeed her because she was such a young kitten.  And then they got another cat and the girl taught the two cats to play nice together.  And then they got a dog and no one could do anything about him; but that dog loved the boy and girl very much, so they decided to keep him around because he was awfully cute and he scared away pesky door-to-door salesmen. 

And then the boy said, I think I might like to have a baby around here and the girl said, thats just what I've been waiting to hear.  So they decided to grow a baby and they were lucky to get a very handsome, healthy, smart baby boy.  That baby looks just like the boy and has a personality that is just like the girl.  And they said, what a good mix of each of us.  And the girl sings silly songs to the baby and the boy plays silly boy-games with the baby and they all laugh at the same jokes.  And the boy still leaves wet towels on the bed and the girl still leaves her teabags in the cups and now the baby eats dog food and the dog chews up toilet paper and chases the cats.  And sometimes they say, our life is too much!   And the girl cries and the boy shakes his head and they hug for a long time and say, I am glad I am not alone in this crazy life.

And today, on Valentines day (their eleventh together), the girl (who used to have long blonde hair but now has long brown hair) makes the boy (who used to have spiky blonde hair but now has kind of shaved, no hair), pot roast in the slow cooker for dinner because thats how he likes it.  And he brings her home flowers and chocolate because it makes her smile.  And they make cards out of construction paper to each other decorating them and signing them like they are from their pets.  And they read a book about love to their little baby with funny voices and smile at each other over his little head.

Because after all this time they see that love does not have to be grand in gesture to be grand in feeling.