Waking Up

The young woman awoke to an empty bed. She could smell the aroma of fresh coffee coming from the kitchen and hear the sound of something, no doubt delicious, being fried.

She gave a slow, cat-like stretch, yawned and made a soft squeal to greet the blue-grey light of the new day. She slid her hourglass form from the bed and made her way to the kitchen.

As she entered the dining room she smiled. The young man was their, setting places at the table while bacon and eggs cooked. The toaster popped and he made his way back into the kitchen. He did not greet her with "good morning," but with a cup of coffee (cream and sugar, just the way she liked it). He flashed her a big smile and gave her a gentle kiss on the cheek.

"What's the occasion," asked the young woman, the whisp of a smile on her beautiful face as she looked into his soft, brown eyes.

He shrugged and grinned. "I had a good dream," he said.

The young woman looked at the scene; flowers on the dining room table, places set for two with neatly folded napkins. Breakfast was nearly ready.

"It must have been a great one. What was it about?"

The young man paused for a moment, as he was pouring a cup of coffee for himself (black, as usual), to think for a bit. Then he gave a soft chuckle and said, "Well, you left me."

The young woman had to keep from spraying the table with coffee. She placed the mug on the table. "And this was a good dream?" She was quite perplexed which made the young man laugh aloud.

"What's so funny about that?"

The young man calmed himself. He looked at her face and then let his eyes roam over every inch of her. Then he returned his gaze to her eyes. He grinned and said, "Tiger, you came back."

He made his way to the kitchen and quickly returned with two plates. He placed one before her and one in front of himself.

"Calm down," he said in a soft voice. "Eat up and I'll tell you all about it."

The young woman eyed him, puzzled. "You're weird sometimes, ya know that?"

"And that's part of the reason you love me," replied the young man. "Now listen."

"I'm not entirely sure why it happened. We didn't have a fight. But one day you asked if maybe we should break-up. I was so caught off guard, assumed that since you asked it must be what you wanted, that for the first time in all of our years together, I agreed. We spoke of it for awhile, had a last hug and kiss, and then we were done."

"As soon as I walked out of the door and began working my way down the stairs I felt wrong about the whole thing. I knew that it couldn't end like that. I had to do something to get you back."

"You came by the next day to get your things. While you were here I told you how I felt, told you that I didn't want it to end. You just looked at me and said no.

"Your stubborness was always something I loved about, even when it drove me nuts, or in this case, broke my heart. So I let you have your say and then tol you that I wouldn't give up; you would be the last."

"I don't think you believed me."

"After that day I would call you about once a week, trying my best to tell you how much I loved you and why, even when we had our problems, you and I would still work together. Again, you were set in your decision."

"I didn't know what to do. At one point I even gave you back the silly engagement ring that you were so fond of throwing at me when we had a spat. From what I heard, you didn't much like that. I was unsure of how to proceed, but I knew that love would find a way."

"Eventually I sort of banished myself; I moved out West. You needed me at my best. I needed to gather myself, become the man you always thought I should be. The man I knew I wanted to be."

"It wasn't an easy thing for me to do. I had grown so used to my ways and changing them, growing, would be a struggle. Plus, in order for this growth to happen I needed to be far away from someone else that I loved dearly, which was painful, to say the least."

"Thankfully, I had some good friends that let me stay with them until I got on my feet. If not for them, well, I'm not sure how I would have managed."

"This taught me a lesson that I needed to learn. No matter how much you want to do it on your own, it's okay to ask for help sometimes. I had always been good at asking people to do things for me under the guise of asking for help, but that was just laziness. Asking for real help was frightening because the outcome really mattered."

"But I was glad I did. It was one more step toward growing up and becoming a man, not being afraid to ask for help."

"I got a great paying job, working in the medical equipment field. The hours were long but it eventually allowed me to get my own place. That was a good feeling, but I hated the job, as I'm sure you can imagine."

"Eventually, I sort of fell apart. I left the job, which wasn't a mistake. Leaving without something else lined up was."

"But even in this I learned a lesson. It really does matter that what you do with your life is fulfilling, and that no amount of money is worth compromising on that. When you do, you compromise on yourself."

"Anyway, for a few months I reverted to my old ways. My folks kept helping me out, but I hated that feeling. Eventually I left my apartment, even though it cost me quite a bit. At least this way I wouldn't have to keep asking my parents for help. My friends let me move back in, and again, I was grateful for their help. Good friends are worth their weight in gold."

"I did a few different jobs that were awful. One was at a phone polling company where I interrupted peoples' dinner to ask them about politics, which I'm sure they really loved me for. Another was working for a maid service. That didn't go well."

"While I worked at those places I kept searching for something that would be a good fit for me. Eventually I found something that I loved and I stayed in that field. I didn't rent a place again, opting to just live in nature while I saved money and paid down my debts. A great friend let me use his address to keep things a bit more legal."

"I continued to work and save, during which time I heard that you had met someone. I heard that he was a great guy but that he had one major flaw. He didn't ever want children."

"I knew how much you wanted children. I thought of all the times we had talked of having them. 'Do it for the children,' remember that?"

Well, I knew that you would never compromise on that, and thought about how beautiful our children would be. I would go to bed at night, gazing up at the stars, and fall asleep thinking of how lovely and smart our children would be. I kept positive and hopeful, no matter what."

"This went on for more than a year."
"Then one day, you called. You asked me how I was doing. I told you I was doing alright for myself. We made small talk. Then you said the words I had been waiting to hear. 'I miss you.' I smiled and tears came to my eyes."

"'Not a day has gone by that I haven't missed you,' I said."

"You asked me to come. I almost dreaded what I knew my answer would be."

"'Home is here now,' I said. 'It's you that needs to come home.'"

"I had bought some land and built a small house. I had a little garden. But the house was designed to be added onto. I could build you a workshop or anything else you might need."

"I told you that I knew how frightening it may seem, but that you need not worry. I would always love you and that if you ever wanted to see family or friends, well, plane tickets were pretty cheap."

"You scared me for awhile, said you needed to think about it. Because of work I wouldn't hear from you for about a week. I can tell you, it was a tough week."

"When my shift ended though, I came back to the most wonderful message. You said yes."

"We married soon after and had a masquerade reception, just like we had always talked about. Then we rented a truck and moved your things out here."

"The first night we spent in the house was wonderful. We were together again, and this time we had done it right. I held you close to me, ran my fingers through your soft hair, and rested my hand just where you always liked it."

"I whispered, 'I love you,' and fell asleep with you in my arms once again."

The young man took a sip of his now cold coffee.

"I woke up, afraid that you wouldn't be there," he said. "For awhile, I couldn't bring myself to open my eyes."

"But I am here," said the young woman.

The young man smiled at her. He placed one hand on hers, the other on her stomach.

"You both are," he said. "And that has taught me another lesson."

"And what lesson is that?"

He gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "That you are worth waiting for. And that you are better than any dream."

The young man leaned in and gave his wife a gentle kiss. "I'll get started on these dishes," he said.

And he did.
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Sent from my Android phone with K-9 Mail. Please excuse my brevity.