Love Me Tender

September 19, 2018

My husband was unexpectedly engaged today when I went to see him in the late morning. The other day, he greeted me with "Oh, hi there!" and a big smile. That was both a shock and a surprise in the most pleasant of ways. Today, he looked at me somewhat vacantly, as if trying to place me, then brightened up a bit as I brought out the music therapy gear.

Usually it takes him at least half an hour to connect with the music, but today he responded right away, danced around (well, not danced, exactly. It was more like wiggling and shuffling), smiled. And he held me tenderly as we swayed to the music, he smiled at me, he seemed...almost happy. He flirted shyly. He put his arms around me lightly, hugged me closely. I got the feeling he thought we were on a date. And he liked me a lot.

He kissed me sweetly, stroked my arms, touched my cheek softly, gazed at me like a lovesick teenager. And then he pulled away ever so slightly, a half-smile on his lips as he looked into my eyes.

"Are you afraid?" he asked tentatively, quietly. What's this? He's wooing me, trying to put me at ease? Wait. He's talking to me!

"No," I answered, "Are you?"

"No," he responded softly.

I'm glad. I'm glad he's not afraid. I'm glad he still wants to be close to me, to embrace me. I'm glad for every window into his thoughts, every word he speaks.

"I love you," I whispered.

"You do?" His expression oozed relief and happiness and surprise and wonderment.

Yes, my darling. I love you. I love you beyond reason. More than I could possibly have imagined. You are my man, the love of my life, the only one for me. Why you chose today to have these brief moments of clarity, of normalcy, I don't know. But I'm grateful to have spent them with you.