Cristin opened her eyes and smiled at the familiar sight of her Ted lying in bed beside her, with the sunlight spilling in through the window. For a moment she wondered if she were still somehow dreaming. In that moment, everything just felt right. That was what she missed, she realized, the feeling that things are where they're supposed to be. And more importantly, the feeling that she was where she was supposed to be. Even after only being together for less than a year, Cristin already found herself to feel more at home with Ted than she had with anyone since Max.
"Good morning." She whispered.
Ted turned to face her, repeating her words and kissing her gently on the nose. "I'll take care of breakfast if you make it sing?"
She couldn't say anything in response, and only smiled brighter, following him into the kitchen.
Upon taking a single step into the living room, her jaw dropped, a small gasp escaping from her mouth. "Ted, you didn't ha- this is amazing. How did you-?" Her eyes widened at the piano sitting in a corner of the room. It was beautiful, and had a red bow on top.
"Happy Valentine's Day." He said, retrieving a bouquet of exquisite, yellow roses and handing to them to her. "The first time I heard you sing was at the Farhampton Hotel, and you were in the hotel room next to mine, singing La Vie en Rose on the balcony, one of my favourite songs. I heard you that night and I thought to myself 'wow, who is this girl?' and then, as fate would have it, I met her. I met you. Not to mention the fact that you completely rocked with the rest of Super Freakonomics that night. So I got you this, because I wanted to hear more music from you. And I know that you love it, almost as much as I love you."
Cristin stood, speechless for a few moments, before stumbling over the few words she managed to get out. "Oh god, Ted-I uh-I didn't get you anything this big. You should really warn me when you're gonna get me super awesome gifts. You know, so I can get you something just as good." She remembered Max, and how he had always known the perfect gifts to get her for each and every occasion, thinking how ridiculously lucky she must be to win the lottery for the second time with Ted, another expert gift-giver.
"Well, maybe just, play a song for me?" He suggested hopefully.
"Of course!" She grinned, sitting down at the piano and whispering to it, "Hello." Her fingers seemed to glide across the keys, her skilled hands hitting the notes as if it were second nature. She began to sing, Hold me close and hold me fast, this magic spell you cast. This is la Vie en Rose, with a tone that was silky and supple.
Ted had heard her sing it countless times, and he would hear it countless more. Yet, the magic of hearing her version never faded, even far into their married years when he would hear her sing it on a nightly basis to their two children after reading them their bed time story.
He swore that with every note she sang he fell deeper in love with her. He was listening from their couch, tears threatening to fill his eyes. And when you speak, angels sing from above. Everyday words seem to turn into love songs.She sang what must have been his favourite line in the entire song. Nothing else seemed to quite explain how he felt with her. Something about her voice made the world around him more beautiful. The couch felt cozier, the ground more stable, even the smell of roses a little sweeter. That was his life with Cristin. Everything was as it had always been, but the way he looked at it had changed.
It was the difference between her and others he had been with in the past. He didn't only appreciate her, or the idea of her, or the way she made him feel. He appreciated the world in itself more than he ever had before. Life seemed so much more wonderful since he found her.
And it was the little things, the simple words they used every day that finally made him recognize the importance of simplicity. Ted had always been one for big romantic gestures and long confessions of love, and he still was. And he would always take unnecessarily long amounts of time to say the simplest of things, and he still loved the gestures of romance he was somewhat known for. But after some time knowing Cristin he also began to understand the weight and poetic value of words like "Good morning," and "I love you," and "I've been thinking about you," and "Hello," and "Goodbye".
Ted, who had always "given meaning to every little thing", continued to do so, but in a different way. He was no longer searching for signs from the universe, but allowed himself to see the real meaning behind everything. He remembered having given a blue French horn to Robin, how it had become symbolic of their former relationship. But that was what it was, a symbol, and for him, a sign. It was sweet and unique, but as he looked back, silly.
This piano was different. It didn't symbolize anything, but it meant something real. On their first date, she had mentioned to him how she used to play a piano at a small-scale music shop run by a good friend of hers, but couldn't afford to buy one for herself. It was one of those small details Ted stored somewhere at the back of his mind, in case he would ever find good use for it. And the piano suited her. He wanted her to have it because he knew her. He knew those tiny details about her past and the things she was truly passionate about.
Cristin reached the last few notes of the song, slowing down in tempo whilst doing so. Give your heart and soul to me, and life will always be la Vie en Rose.