Just To Be
She sat quietly at the table and observed her husband as he hungrily consumed his dinner.
She and the children had eaten hours earlier and then she'd whisked them off to bed.
She enjoyed this time of day; this aloneness with him, this occasion to study him in retrospect.
Yes, he'd seemed quite the arrogant and sure-of-himself young man when she'd first met him; all of nineteen and such the man about town. He'd had hopes and dreams he'd wanted to conquer; he'd wanted to travel to exotic places; to see the world and experience everything in it.
But then he'd laid eyes on her, and it was she who'd become his conquest.
Oh, she'd tried to pretend she wasn't interested; ignoring his requests to see her and barely paying attention to him when she did.
But one day as she was walking through the park, she noticed him sitting on a bench feeding the birds. When the seed was gone, he got up and walked over to a vagrant sleeping on a makeshift bed of leaves and brush. She could see him shivering against the cold from where she stood, even though he'd tried to shield himself from the cold with a tattered blanket.
Her would-be suiter then reached into his pocket, and laid some coin at the old man's side; as she secretly watched in astonishment.
She thought about the act of kindness she'd seen from him on her walk home. Curiosity got the best of her and she decided to go to the park daily to see if he did this on a regular basis.
And with each visit, she witnessed the same humanity he bestowed upon the down and trodden old man.
And her heart began to swell with love and admiration for him.
When he called on her once more, she happily agreed to see him. She listened intently as he talked of his interests and how he wanted her in his future; the family they would have and how happy they would be.
After several months of courting, he asked her father for her hand in marriage. The older man consented and gave his blessing, but made him promise he wouldn't take her far away from her mother.
And because he loved her so, he nodded in silent agreement.
After the wedding, he put away his dreams of travel and settled down with his bride in a modest home.
And he adored her.
He didn't take to drink, he never looked at other women, and he always treated her with respect.
As she did him.
He went to work as an apprentice chimney sweep and in the first year welcomed the first of their four children. Within five years, he would become the owner of the business when his boss retired and offered to sell it to him.
Because of their good fortune, it allowed them to move into a larger home.
The years had been especially kind to them; neither of them had fell seriously ill, and the children were well-mannered and eager to please their parents. They were far from wealthy, but she never complained.
And they were happy.
She was shaken out of her reverie when he politely asked for another cup of coffee, she smiled at him brightly, and poured the hot liquid in his cup.
As she sat the pot down, she took in the weary eyes, the soot on his face, and the cheery disposition he always had for her and thanked the good Lord above...that he belonged to her.
Comments