Thursday, August 09, 2007

When He Looks At Her

“When I look at Judy, I see her at twenty-seven. And I see her at thirty-five. And fifty. And ninety.”

They’re not yet ninety, but when you’re around them, it seems that’s how many years they’ve known one another. It takes about ten seconds to see what they really are. Real. There are only two possible conclusions you make when you see what they have, either you want it or you have it.

She shakes her head when he makes a sandwich on the bare counter, not mindful of the crumbs. She spends an hour telling me about their first trip to Mexico, and how they never left the room “but not in the romantic sense.” The water was bad. Then he chimes in “well, there was that first night.” And our faces turn red, and she rolls her eyes. Then he mentions the way she tucked him into bed those nights, as if to apologize for making her blush.

He tells me about the time she first met his friends, and how they suggested she may not be his “type.” And how he knew that she was no one’s type, which is why he had to have her. “If I didn’t do something to get her to marry me, my entire life would have been a failure.” He was already successful, had made more money than he’d ever dreamed. Without her, it wouldn’t have mattered. The classic story.

She speaks of him in a way that makes you tilt your head and crease your brow. It makes sense and yet, you feel like there’s a mystery about it. It’s from her heart, the bottom of her soul. “I’m not a romantic,” she says, “but he does the laundry. He’s always done the laundry. I just love that.” There’s some magic they’ve found, some intricate simplicity.

And I think he does see her at twenty-seven, and thirty-five and fifty and ninety. I think they know that’s what it’s about, that life is fluid and when you choose someone like they have done, you choose to be along for the ride.

20 comments:

Danielle said...

Now that's what I need to see. I am wondering about this mysterious "love" thing...and the marriages I mostly see just don't seem for the right reasons, I need an example of something like that, to know that there is real stuff out there, and that it can be that way...

Bre said...

You see! THAT is what I'm looking for. That's what I want!

So very very sweet!

Aaron said...

Funny how that works.

Sarah isn't "my type" and I'm certainly not hers. Yet some how, some way, we totally "get" each other.

The Exception said...

And so often today we forget that - it is about every age and every bend in the road. It is not just until something different comes along that may or may not be better.

It is so much more than marriage and yet so indefinable.

Anonymous said...

THIS is why "type" should be thrown out the window. Lovely story and so well written!

Airam said...

I fall in the category of the people who "want it".

Appletini said...

Awwww! What a sweet story. I think that is love. Seeing your self with someone for the rest of your life...

Anonymous said...

I loved this!! Beautifully said and such an inspiring idea,- that it IS possible. Oh, and I'm going to ditto what Bre said. ;)

Anonymous said...

I think it's what everyone is looking for...even those in denial.

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful post.

megabrooke said...

i am ditto-ing brandy's ditto, and also ditto-ing airam and a few others. it's so true that i guess although we can think we have a "type," when the right one comes along, all that kind of goes away. someone may not be what you thought your type was, but they can be right for you.
this was so well written and so sweet.

Barbara Bruederlin said...

That is so lovely. Too often we are so busy with the business of life that we don't think about the person that we are going through life with all that much.

Legs and Wings said...

Beautiful post...it's easy to write when inspired eh?

I can see them both.

Thanks.

Balou said...

Beautifully done. What a lovely couple and your words describe a comfortable love perfectly.

Sizzle said...

i want that!

Anonymous said...

Awwww! Must. Keep. Hope. Alive.

afuntanilla said...

very sweet & touching.

Craver said...

I'm such a joiner.
But it does bear repeating.
Lovely piece.
Lovely couple.

Ginger Breadman said...

How beautiful - especially when you add things like "intricate simplicity" and "life is fluid" to the story. Your writing is as amazing as the love in their life.

Anonymous said...

I'm lucky to have that. (No, I'm not bragging, just stating a fact.)

Lovely post. Sometimes we just need to be reminded.