Alessia walked away with Desiree, so I went back into the house to decide how to spend my free day. At first, I thought I’d sit down and strategize about how to move forward with my life. I still hadn’t tried the candle thing. I could go ahead and open a yoga studio and see how I feel about it. Before my mind ran away with more ideas, I stopped. My go to move is always to keep busy and stay two steps ahead. Meanwhile, my wife is somewhere by herself, probably thinking about me. It’s crazy because I love her like no one else, yet I still have trouble prioritizing our relationship. She’s my north star, always there, pointing me in the right direction. I’m learning, however, that is both a blessing and a curse. It’s great knowing she’ll always be there, but I take that for granted a lot, especially when I have so much on my mind. So, I found her and announced Desi would be spending the day with Less and the kiddos and asked if she’d like to jog around the lake with me. Her face lit up at the proposal, yet she hesitated.
“I’d love to, but I’m so out of shape! That trail is like really long.”
“Yeah… But you’ll be fine. We’ll pace ourselves and take breaks.”
My recent knee pain and stamina issues came to mind. It’s too early in the day to feel so run down.
“Actually, scratch the jog,” I said. “We can power walk.”
“That’s more my speed!”
We changed clothes and strolled to the trailhead by the bridge near the splash park. I was so giddy about doing this with her. It was seriously one of my best ideas. Sharing my favorite activities with my wife is something I don’t often get to do, and I couldn’t stop smiling at her.
“What’s got you all giddy over there?” she asked.
“Just you.”
“Aww! Hey…I’ve been thinking. We should take another family vacation before school starts.”
“Oooh, yes. I’m always down for a vacation. Where do you want to go this time?”
“I was thinking…Mt. Komorebi.”
“That is the best idea,” I shouted.
I honestly never considered returning to the place where we met, but hearing the proposal set my body ablaze with excitement. I couldn’t wait to share our history with our family and began looking for rentals immediately.
“This is gonna be so much fun! Desi and the niblings are going to love the snow!”
“Actually, I was thinking it could just be us,” she said.
“Oh. Okay. I mean, that’s cool, but…any reason why?”
“You know I don’t mind your family, but I want Des to have some memories with just us.”
What she said made sense. I’m always trying to make sure my niece and nephews have experiences because I know Less won’t take them anywhere. To this day, she still never goes anywhere without me. But Sophia is right. The lines between raising my child and looking after the trio are so blurry I can’t keep them straight.
“If we leave tomorrow, we could spend Winterfest there,” I said. “What do you think about that?”
“I think it sounds magical.”
After our walk, I FINALLY took Sophia to that restaurant I’d been dying to take her to ever since we started dating. The date was very reminiscent of our first date, filled with laughter and shenanigans. We may be sprouting gray hairs left and right, and we may be busier than we’ve ever been, but we’re still that same young, silly couple from Oasis Springs. She’s still simple, elegant, and fine as hell, and I still feel like the luckiest man alive.
We got home around dinnertime and knew our day date was coming to a fast close, so we went upstairs, got comfortable, and aimed to have a little adult fun before the kid returned. She put on that little skin-colored, see-through number I like and slid under the covers next to me. The bedroom is where she shows me just how assertive she can be, but she didn’t make a move. Neither did I. We gazed into each other’s eyes for several moments before she nestled her head against my shoulder.
“I love you,” she whispered. “I’m so happy to be married to you.”
I returned the sentiment, realizing how long it had been since the last time those words left my mouth. I add a few more things I had never admitted to her before, like how much I appreciate her patience with me; how lost I’d be without her; how lucky I felt she chose me. That moment ranked very high on our list of intimate moments, and I wanted it to last forever. I’m always down to shake the sheets with Sophia, but quite honestly, I could do with more of this.
