Ahh. The weather is perfect for today. We’re relaxing on
this serene beach, the birds are chirping above our head, and our beautiful
holiday cottage is right behind us. I looked to my right: my lovely husband is
lying on the beach chair. The sun is shining brightly, but his smile shines
brighter.
How lucky am I to be here with this guy?
But I know that. I’ve known since one of our first
dates.
I remember we hadn't really planned anything because it was an impromptu one. I was supposed to go to a party with my
friend, but she cancelled on the last minute. So he offered to pick
me up for dinner, and undoubtedly I said yes. I hate eating alone, and I
certainly wanted to see him. And since we hadn't decided a place to eat, he suggested we go to thePlate, a new gastronomic
restaurant in the city. I didn't say no. We were dressed enough for quite a
fancy place, anyway. But on the way there, my head was not settled. I was just
not buying into the idea of it. Alright, I may have to admit that at that time
I was quite tired from the day’s work. The music, the loudness, the formality
of it all just seemed even more exhausting. But within 15 minutes we were
already there. It’s not like I could change my mind, can I? Still, I froze on
my seat as he parked and undid his seatbelt.
"Okay. Let's go –" He noticed me. “Ame... Is
everything alright?"
I unfroze. "I don't know. I suddenly feel like it's a
pizza kind of night." I felt horrible after saying that. We were literally
steps away from having a proper, excellent dinner, and I proposed for us to
turn around and go eat pizza.
But being the saint that he is, he just looked at me with a
gentle stare. "You want to just grab pizzas and coke instead?"
He didn't sound disappointed. Still, the gap between
gastronomic masterpieces and pizza slices is a big one, although it would be
the perfect comfort food. "Would it be okay?"
But with one swift move, he pulled his seat belt over and
once again rested his hands on the wheel.
"It sounds perfect actually."
So we drove to the nearest pizza joint and picked up a large
meat and cheese and a spicy sausage pizza with two cans of coke. Then we
followed the main street until it took us to the lookout area where he pulled the
car over, parking the car facing the city view. Coldplay's Mylo Xyloto was
playing softly on the radio as I turned the car’s cabin lights on and opened
the pizza box. He took the sausage slice, while I took the meat and cheese. For
a minute we just quietly took bites of our slices and watch the lights twinkling
from afar.
After a while, I felt him studying me. I turned to him.
"You know I'm always up for pizzas,” he said.
I felt my heart skipped a beat when I heard him say that.
"I know."
"Then what's with the frowny browy?”
“What?” I didn’t even realize I was frowning.
“It’s not like we’ve booked a reservation or something, Ame.
It’s fine.”
That’s true. But I couldn’t stop feeling guilty. I should’ve
said something earlier to save us the time. Then it might not be too late to
catch a movie or go to the acoustic café. And I told him so.
“But we don’t have to,” he smiled. “We could just sit out
here, eat pizza, and listen to some music. We can still go to thePlate next
time, and watch a movie on the weekend. I’m thankful enough to spend this time
with you; we don’t need to do much.”
I nodded. I agreed. We were lucky to have that time for
ourselves, in the midst of our hectic lives at that time, and so that night was
enough. And, note to self, I should
stop over-thinking everything.
But right at that moment, I realized something bigger. I knew I was lucky to be with him. Not that I didn’t appreciate him before, but
I’d never felt this thankful for him and this relationship in my life.
This is not messy. No, it’s not simple, but it’s not too
complicated to comprehend. It feels real.
We don’t need to be a knight and a princess. Our story doesn’t need to be a
fairytale. We don’t need to go fancy places or do what ‘normal’ couples might
do to feel secure and ‘romantic’ in their relationship; we can do pizza, chill
out, and be perfectly happy.
So then and there, I knew that I’ve found him. The realization took me aback, but
an even larger smile grew on my face. “Us Against the World” flowed softly from
the radio as I tried to take my eyes off him and failed.
“What?” he asked.
I shook my head, but kept smiling. I grabbed a napkin and
wiped a red speck I noticed on his chin.
It’s been 3 years now since that date. A lot has happened,
but just like that night, it doesn’t have to be complicated. We don’t argue
over small things that do not worth the sweat. When things fail, we can still
be comforted in the fact that we still have each other, and from there we can
start trying again. Being in love has never felt this real, and it just gets
better each day.
“Hey, hon, what do you reckon we should have for lunch?”
I turned to him. “What do you have in mind?”
“Do you want to go to the ramen place again?” he asked.
My eyes popped, “Again? It’s the third time since we got
here!”
He looked guilty, “I know, I know. But it’s just so good.”
I giggled, “Alright. Of course we can.”
His eyes sparks as he jumped from his seat and came to my
side to give me a cheeky kiss. “I love you.”
I smiled, knowing I’d mean every word in my answer,
“I love you, too.”
-*^^*-
