An Unexpected Long-lasting Love

 Nights like these are what I live for now. Ever since I got out of the mercenary business I have been seeking reprieve. Here I found it, in the sounds of the sea. The smell of the saltwater is a dream and the sound of the ocean winds are a calming blanket to my tired ears. I sit here on occasion to escape the thoughts of yesterday. "Whoa, what is that?" I exclaim to myself. I'm usually here alone at this time of night. My vision was blurred and foggy, the moon the only light upon the horizon. I had to walk closer to the figure I saw emerge from the water. Luna illuminated the outline of a body like it was made for her to do in this moment. Indeed, it was a woman. Her long, dark hair dripped and her bikini stuck to her like moss to a log. Now, I had been staring in awe for a good two minutes. Finally, I hear a "hello?" and I walk over closer to nervously muster out a "hi, how are you?" "I was just taking a midnight swim, it clears my mind," the midnight vixen said. "Yeah, I didn't want to startle you with how dark it is out here but I had to come see that my eyes weren't playing tricks on me," I uttered back, still in awe at her beauty. "Did you drink too much of the sea water, captain?" She playfully asked. Not expecting such a remark I fumbled over some words before I returned my retort. She said not to worry and that it was a joke. We laughed together. After a short, comfortable silence I softly spoke. "You know, I come out here to calm my mind too and nothing does it like the sea." Like magnets we were uncontrollably drawn to each other, I felt like the negative side and her the positive. Together, tonight, we somehow ended up and I had to wonder if it was a force of the universe or just coincidence.

    The free flow of our conversation was invigorating. It happened so almost organically that I was nearly blinded from my own logic. I wanted to believe it was destiny. I knew better. I couldn't let this chance get away from me, though, so I acted fast. I asked her if she'd like to get together again soon. She said, "why don't we leave it up to fate?" She smirked. I smiled and along we went on our way. Somehow, there was an unspoken handshake done, a type of blood bond if you will. We both knew that there'd be no way it wouldn't happen because of our newfound night time sea escapes. This we shared and that was enough to feel like we understood a piece of each other. Like a lion salivating as it pounces for it's next meal, I wanted to know more about my mysterious ocean pearl that I seemed to find in the roughs of the coral. I skipped giddily as a child all the way home that night.

  Her name was Ivy. Why she'd be okay getting together with this chump, Freddy Fitzgerald, the answer still escapes me. For nights in and nights out we met upon that beach talking about our greatest dreams and passions we want to pursue. Sweet nothings were spoken, many gestures had, but what I'll remember most was her breath-taking smile. It was so genuine like the first ripened fruit on a blossoming apple tree. "Wait, what am I doing? I do not want the novelty of this to wear off. I must come up with somewhere else we can go, something else we can do." She was worrisome about me gazing off. Meanwhile, I had been having a whole conversation with myself. I told her not to worry that I can not tell her what I was thinking since it would ruin a surprise I had for her, for us. No idea was good enough. It was as if nothing I wanted to do would satiate my expectations to give this woman the world. I settled on taking her out for pizza. Let's start there. Would it not be the truest test of compatibility to see how well two gears were greased being somewhere that could otherwise be considered too simple, boring, or mundane? Onto our test we went. I wondered why I had to see life this way but I did. This is the best part of this game ever, I thought, laughing to myself at how ridiculous I would probably sound speaking this aloud to anyone.

  "Hey Ivy, thanks for agreeing to meet me at Bartelli’s Pizza, this is a spot I come to often." And sometimes in life realizations just seem to slap you in the face one after the other. Connections can become greater as we show others what we enjoy too. It can be be intimidating. maybe even hard to make sure you don't seem like a prick for stealing the spotlight by always making the suggestions and showing pieces of who you are to another. It's like, yes, this is part of me see my heart bleeding right out of my sentimental sweater. Understand me and validate me please! Somehow my thoughts trickled down from wholesome to a bit condescending and cynical. Woe is me. Haha, oh, I'm on a date! I remind myself and once again she's asking me if everything is okay. I tell her how my mind will spin thoughts like the webs from a spiders abdomen. This entertains her and once again I get to see that red lip-sticked, perfectly vibrant smile. It really brightens up a room along with her happy-go-lucky attitude. I get to fawn while she speaks about the newest book she read, show she watched, or craft she started. This is the life and I'm grateful in that moment and for moments to come that Ivy had stumbled into my life whether it be fate, destiny, or coincidence. Our pizza parlor date was outstanding but anywhere we two ended up we seemed to make the most of it. Conversation was never stale and the love only grew for years to come.

   I learned Ivy had been in the military and I told her about what I had been hired to do. To my surprise, she did not look at me in disgust. She smiled and said “It’s all in the past now, that’s where you can leave it. I’d like to leave my time in the service there too.” She giggled. Oh, was this a relief of her not to disown me. To me, it didn’t matter that those who I sniped were considered bad folks. It still took its toll. One day it just dawned on me that I could not keep my sanity if I didn’t leave. I told her how I took early retirement from it and that now I would consider what in life I actually wanted to do with all of the money I had saved. I let her know how lonely life felt and what struggles I went through. I took most of this information to my therapist who helped me deal well enough to gain some clarity. Oh, my sweet summer vine, Ivy was. She accepted me for me and I thought it was quite attractive what the military had taught her for self-defense and independence. Sometimes we danced all alone at the beach and other times you could find us throwing jokes between sips of coffee. We decided we just wanted a simple life with no kids, just leisure. We had dealt with taking care of business long enough. She decided to take a job as a florist, how fitting since she’d fit in with all of the beautiful flowers. I continued to work through my past and loved her through every date, breath, and hardship. I always wondered how I became so lucky but some things aren’t meant to be explained, I concluded. Deciding to actually live my life in love instead of just doing what I felt I had to survive was the best thing I ever chose for myself. Ivy and I continued to choose love, life, and each other.

  "How long have we been together now?" I whisper. "Oh, I suppose just about 30 years," she said as the moon hit her face highlighting her high cheekbones. "These have been the best years of my life and I'm happy to spend even more with you. It's not everyone who finds this, in fact I think some give up or get tired of seeking and might would settle for less," I eagerly offer. For this night and hopefully more to come we stand in an embrace and stare at the stars above us, pondering the magnificence of the universe, for we surely know our situation is a brilliant happening, rare like each individual snowflake when observed under a microscope.