The Quiet Corner
They just sat there, waiting for the other to speak an awkward silence out of existence. Both of them occasionally tearing their eyes away from their phones, while subconsciously doing their best to avoid a conversation that was brewing for far too long. How did it get to this? Fifteen years of marriage and neither one of them could come up with a single word to commence a conversation. Fifteen years full of both love and pain, of raising three children, of birthdays and Christmas’, of parents passing away and lifting each other up in the worst of times, but now silence is their only companion. The kids were older now, not needing their constant attention and so it’s left them with just them. The days of arguing and fixing it with a night filled with making love were long gone and now that it’s down to just plain talking, they were lost. They’ve tried therapy, damn it if they didn’t, but the damage was too deep. Neither one could admit that both were wrong and so neither side could heal the scars given to each other..by each other. She felt under appreciated and he felt neglected. But neither one was willing to bend let alone break for the other so now here they sat. In this Smokey sports bar, waiting on chicken wings and tacos, while Aerosmith played in the background. A few times he almost spoke to her, attempting to say something that might make her smile, but he didn’t want to come off insensitive so he decided to just keep the silence. He loved her so much but it just was never enough for her. In his eyes she was always angry, always unable to accept his limitations. The more he tried to demonstrate how much he truly cared, the more she wanted exactly that and in his heart he couldn’t reach the level she desired. unbeknownst to him, she didn’t want more. She just wanted him to deliver on his promise. She didn’t care about how much he earned. She didn’t care about flowers or expensive gifts or fancy trips, she just wanted him to do what he said he would do. Unfortunately, it was too late for that and so he was left with filling that void with random material things that he thought she wantedbut, honestly she didn’t care about. It’s funny how love works that way sometimes. So as they sat there in complete and utter silence, she just kept scrolling through her social media posts and he stared at an old, smoke stained portrait of a sailboat fighting the tides and all he can think of was what it must feel like to be on that ship. Not knowing if today was the day that the seas chose him. Or his lonely wife who misses her husband out at sea desperately. She knows that he must be gone for months at a time, but still she gets angry that he’s gone and yet, she still waits for his return. The massive, sea stained ship with is endless blue sails, crashing through the waves in search of their lively hood. She waits, staring off past the horizon to see that flag resting on it mast, representing all that she lives for. She doesn’t know if it’s cargo bay is filled with salmon, or tuna or crab this time. All she knows is that he’s on it and he’s home. The thought of him dying at sea snapped him back to his present situation and he finally had the words to provide what was needed. To tell her how much he loved her and how life was, is and will be completely and utterly miserable without her. To thank her and cherish and provide for her was all he’s lived for these past 15 years. She gave him 3 amazing children and a life filled with as much happiness as one man could ever dream of he was on the precipice of finally shattering the silence and explains to her all she been to him when a voice from behind beat him to it and informed them that their food was ready. What was going to be a moment of finally getting out years of pent up frustration would have to wait until coffee and dessert.
