I slowly opened my eyes and was immediately met by his gaze. For a moment we just stared at each other in silence. Finally, I smiled and asked him ‘How long have you been watching me?’ He didn’t give an answer, only smiled in return…
I rolled over onto my back and looked out of the window. The sun was shining bright through the blinds. It had to be at least 10 o’clock.
We had slept in.
Memories of the night before flooded my mind. We stayed up all night laughing and talking and just enjoying each other’s company. It had truly been a wonderful night.
The warmth of his hand grabbing mine broke me from my thoughts. ‘Stay in bed baby, I’ll get us some breakfast going and we can enjoy it together.’ He flashed that killer smile at me and headed towards the kitchen.
I propped myself up on my elbows and watched him as he worked. Quiet, yet diligent. Out of nowhere, he stopped and glanced at me. A sly grin crept across his face. ‘Alexa, play…’ Suddenly, music spilled into every room of our home. He was dancing and swaying to the music while I held back my laugh. This was what happiness felt like.
Outside, the world was not so happy.
My eyes landed on the papers stacked on the bedside table. “‘MANDATORY 14 DAY QUARANTINE’ They were my husband’s official orders. We were home and enjoying special time together, but we were in quarantine. The world was in a state of what could only be explained as pure chaos. I shifted my gaze from the papers to my husband, who was now loudly singing to our puppy as he prepared bacon.
Regardless of the circumstances, I was blessed to be spending so much time with the love of my life. I threw my legs over the side of the bed and headed up the hallway, eager to join in on the fun. This was going to be a long couple of weeks and I planned on enjoying every minute. I had never been more excited to be in lockdown.
‘Wanna swing by the beach baby?’ He looked over at me with a smile. ‘Sure! It looks so nice out. We’ll just stop for a little while.’ We turned at the stoplight and parked. He opened my door and I climbed out of the car, stopping only to briefly change from sandals to flip flops. It almost seemed deserted. Barely any people. Just the way we liked it. We walked hand in hand towards the sand. We were definitely going to be here for more than just a little while…
2020. It was a new year. A new decade. So many plans. It’s crazy how life has this way of surprising you. I remember posting a photo on our social media with the caption ‘Excited to bring in a new year happy and together…’ At the time, I had no idea that my husband would soon be unexpectedly deployed. Hours notice, that’s all we got.
I remember the day we spent at the beach. It was such a perfect day. The sun was peeking from behind the clouds, providing the perfect amount of warmth and shade. It was deserted that day. We walked right up and got front row seats to the amazing sunset. ‘So beautiful.’ He and I had whispered that at the same time. ‘Yes, you are.’ I looked over at him. I had been talking about the sunset. He had been talking about me.
Oh my goodness. Why was I blushing??
I sometimes look back at the photos we took that day and smile. Such fond memories. We were blessed to have that special time together. It was so much more than just a day at the beach.
I looked over at him and smiled, he smiled back and gave my hand a gentle squeeze. We had waited so long for this moment. An intimate little getaway for just the two of us. I gazed out of the window at the palm trees as I happily made plans in my head for the remainder of our trip. ‘We’ll visit the islands, have a romantic picnic…’ The sound of his phone pulled me from my thoughts. It was going off like crazy. I looked over at his face and the smile slowly faded from mine…
What seemed like a million fireworks rang out, beautifully illuminating the night sky. Through the window, I followed a glimpse of blue with my eyes until it disappeared over the lake, gone forever. I shifted my attention to you, trying to decipher the look on your face. Your eyes were focused on the task at hand. Jaw tight in concentration. You seemed to be lost in thought. What were you thinking? My eyes lingered for a moment.
Until you caught me looking at you.
Your features immediately softened. A smile crept across your lips. It was sad, almost apologetic as you asked me ‘You all packed, babe?’ I looked down at the bag in front me and didn’t recognize it as my own. The usually neatly folded, organized by color and style clothing had been quickly stacked and mixed amongst other belongings. ‘Yes baby,’ I said, unable to look back up at you. They were coming again. The tears. Holding them back took everything in me but I was determined.
SierraSweetheart 