55

I opened my eyes to see a table next to my bed with breakfast on it as usual. But something is different today there is a red flower in a small vase on the table. I cleared my eyes with my hands to see Sydney standing behind the table.

“Good morning my love” I saw a huge smile on his face.

I was still a bit sleepy, but I tried to make an effort to sit down in bed, he got closer and held my hand to help me out “good morning Sydney” he kissed my cheek and walked away starting to bring the table closer to me.

“You know what today is?”

I tried to figure it out quickly, I am not stupid I can see the flower and his tender behavior, today must mark something special I started counting on my fingers “it is not my birthday, it is not your birthday, it is not our wedding anniversary, it is not our engagement anniversary, it is not even our first date anniversary and it is not valentine’s day, and it’s neither of our son’s birthdays” I shake my head “I don’t know”

I saw him smiling again, but with urge of disappointment on his face, that is covering his cute dimple that I love to see every time he smiles.

“It is our first ever time to see each other anniversary”

I chuckled “is that a thing?”

He nodded “it is, if it’s the 55^th”

I widened my eyes to look at him, unbelieving the number have we known each other for 55 years? Then I saw the wrinkles on his face and his shaky hands, I saw his grey hair and the glasses he is wearing. And I made sense of the number. We have known each other for so long now. Although it still feels like yesterday. I covered my mouth with my hand and I can feel my eyes getting warmer, I am about to tear up “oh Sydney!”

He come closer to the bed and sit next to me he wrapped his arm around me “55 years ago I saw the most beautiful girl, who was chasing her cat in the streets. The new girl who showed up to our town, hating everything about it and wishing to go back to where she came from. You know that I loved you the moment I saw you?”

“We were only 15”

“Yes, but when I saw you running barefoot in our street, I couldn’t move my eyes off you and when I saw you hitting the boys who were making fun of you, I told myself that’s my girl”

I laughed louder this time “yeah! I was afraid I would lose her, I had to run after her, she was the only thing I had from my old house. And I also remember how you were standing away watching those boys bulling me, I was telling myself how ungentle of him to watch them without even trying to help, you were folding your hands together on your chest, wearing your hat that was covering your blonde hair, and putting on a huge smile on your face, I thought to myself how he can be so cute and so confident but so annoying in the same time”

He laughed “You didn’t need my help, besides I was afraid you would think I was like them so I left you alone”

“But when you saw me crying, when I thought that I lost my cat, you looked for her and brought her to me two hours later, I remember looking at you thinking that it might not be so bad moving to this town after all”

“You kissed me on the cheek to thank me that day”

“I didn’t” I wonder how I still get embarrassed from this after all these years

“You did” He kissed my forehead, then my cheek and pressed his lips gently into mine “you are the best thing that happened to me in my life”

Now I couldn’t help my tears, I can’t believe that he is still so loving and so caring. When I was young and used to read about the love stories, I used to envy the fictional characters about how they had lived happily ever after, and if someone at that point would have ever told me that I would fall in love with this heartthrob next to me and live with him forever I would have told them be realistic. But here I am after all these years still loving him more than ever I raised my head to look him in the eyes “and you are my first and only love”

Now I see how our story would make a bestselling fictional love story. Since I moved into a town where I know no one to fall in love with a random guy in my neighborhood, and how my parents moved again because of my father’s work three years later. How I cried so much thinking that our love was lost forever, but then I found him writing me letters ensuring me that he won’t leave me not ever. And how when finally we got engaged, he had to leave to attend for the army. How I refused many guys who wanted to marry me, how many people told me he is dead when he stopped writing back and how my friends told me that he must have got married and forget about me and I would keep insisting that he would never do this to me. How I had faith in him and in our love.

Everyone then told me how dreamy and unrealistic I was. But they didn’t know how realistic and loving I was. Only him knew, showing a year later, telling me how everything went sideways but he kept fighting so hard to get back to me, to just tell me that he didn’t forget about me that he still loves me and that he wants to marry me.

Only then I knew that I chose right.

And now I have two sons and five beautiful grandchildren and 55 years to prove me right, and loving man who has been preparing breakfast to me in bed for 45 years now.

That it was worth the wait.

That was definitely worth the blind faith.

I kissed him in his cheek “I love you”

He kissed me back “I love you too”