They sat across from each other while the fireplace crackled between them. While their "bodies" were still, their "minds" were traveling back in time to that first date.
He was thinking of the hours spent washing the car, while she was remembering how long she had shopped for the perfect dress.
Despite the passage of years, they could both still feel that first touch of lips they had shared at the end of the evening.
They could still recall the growing desires, the building of trust, the joy of touch, the meeting of mutual friends, the sharing of families, the proposal, the plans, the wedding and their first complete night together.
The fire became warmer as they thought of the move from an apartment to their first house, the trimming of Christmas trees, the creating of family and traditions, the joyful announcement of the forthcoming children, the inside humor that only they understood, the long walks that needed no words, the flowers that had been sent for no reason other than to simply say, "I love you," the spiritual prosperity discussed during periods of poverty and the digesting of great ideas after meaningful meals.
Then other recollections entered the room as the fire subsided and darkness became a presence. The memory of the first cruel and hurtful words said during arguments added to the approaching melancholy.
Remembrances of how new responsibilities arrived with the children and decreased the time they had to spend alone with each other, of having to deal with interferences from well-meaning relatives and annoying neighbors deepened the despair.
The emotional pain became almost physical as they thought back to how perfume had been replaced by cold cream and silk pajamas and night gowns had given way to sweat pants and woolen socks, the weekends he had neglected to shave and she hadn’t removed the curlers from her hair; microwave specials taking the place of candlelight dinners; so-called double dates when the men discussed the pennant races and the women, the latest fashions.
There had been her dislike over his pipe tobacco and his ridicule over her choice of movies. Forgiving his fleeting interest in ... Continue
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