"Keep your eyes closed Tom! You promised!" Margo reprimands.
"Ok, ok. They're still closed." Tom laughs. Holding the small duffel bag Margo had handed him when they got out of the car, he lets her hold his arm and guide him. With his eyes closed, his other senses are heightened. He can feel the warm late May breeze blowing through his hair. He can hear the muffled sounds of their footsteps on what feels like a dirt path. He can also hear the calls of birds and the distant chirping of tree frogs as evening falls. He can smell a slightly flowery, earthy smell of what he guesses is the woods mingled with Margo's perfume. As they continue to head slightly downhill, Tom concentrates on the feel of his wife's hands on his arm. He thinks with amusement that this is the last thing he expected to be doing this evening.
Tom had had a long week at work, and as he turned his car into the driveway earlier that evening, he hoped Margo would not be working late. She really had been trying to be home more, especially since Casey had returned, but the demands of her job still often kept her away more than Tom would have liked. Tom realized he was in luck when he saw Margo's car already parked in the driveway. As he got out of his car, he was surprised to see Margo sitting on the patio holding her car keys with a small duffel bag by her feet. He was even more surprised to see that she wasn't in her work clothes or the jeans she normally wore when she got home. Instead she was wearing a deep green dress he'd never seen before. It had thin shoulder straps and the light, airy material just skimmed her knees. Her hair was loosely pulled back, the green in the dress and the late afternoon sunlight made the red in her hair stand out. She sat silently watching him. As he got closer a smile spread across her face. Tom loved how when she smiled like that it made her blue eyes light up. It filled his heart with love for her. He found himself momentarily speechless as he stared at her.
After a few seconds, he managed to recover his voice. He looked from her keys to the bag by her feet. "You leavin' me honey?" he said with a laugh.
"Baby, I could never leave you," Margo replied lightly. "So, you're coming with me."
"Um, where are WE going?" Tom asked feeling a little confused.
Margo laughed, "That's for ME to know YOU to find out...if you trust me."
Tom continued to stare at his wife wondering what in the world she was up to. With all they been through in the past year and a half, it had been a while since he had seen her look so carefree and happy. "Of course I trust you sweetie. I'm just a little confused."
Margo stood up, grabbing the duffel bag and taking Tom's briefcase from him. She went over to her car and threw the bags in the backseat. Getting in the driver's side, she motioned to Tom, who was still just watching her with an amused look on his face, "Come on, get in. Time's a wasting!"
Tom slid in the passenger seat and closed the door. "Well I wouldn't want to waste anymore time." Tom wondered again where in the world they were going.
Margo started the car and then turned to look at Tom before backing out, "Oh, and one more thing honey, you have to close your eyes. Absolutely no peeking 'til I say you can."
Tom started to protest but then figuredhe would just keep his mouth closed. He was enjoying this seemingly impulsive and unpredictable side of his wife. Obeying her, he closed his eyes and laid his head on her shoulder. Placing his hand on her thigh and giving a squeeze, he smiled, "This ok?"
Margo glimpsed in the rearview mirror when Tom laid his head on her shoulder. She saw his eyes were indeed closed. Laying her hand on top of Tom's, she laced their fingers together, "Better than ok."
She couldn't wait for Tom to see what she had planned for them.
"Ok, watch your step baby," Margo's voice brings Tom back to the present. They had only been walking a couple minutes, and he can feel the ground under his feet change from soft dirt to a harder surface, maybe wood. The breeze has picked up and he can also hear the sound of gentle waves lapping.
"Just a few more steps," Margo tells Tom. She turns his body slightly, "Ok, open them!"
Tom has been enjoying letting his wife be in control and anticipating what she has in store for them. However, at her command, he slowly opens his eyes. He immediately sees they are standing on a small pier and the lake is spread out before them, shimmering in the last of the evening light. They seem to be in a very secluded area. He notices then, right before him, the most beautiful sailboat he's ever seen. For the second time that evening he is momentarliy speechless. After a few seconds he manages to stammer,"Who...what...how...when?"
Margo loves the look of surprise and wonder on Tom's face. She is also thoroughly enjoying his loss for words.
"It belongs to a colleague of you dad's. I wanted to do something romantic for you for our anniversary this year. And I knew you used to love to sail, so I talked to Bob about it. He connected me with his friend who owns this boat and happens to be conveniently out of town. It's all ours for the weekend. I figured we'd spend the night here tonight and then tomorrow...we sail."
"Honey, this is so perfect and so are you...but, unless I'm missing something, our anniversary isn't for another 10 days."
"Well, I figured it would be more of a surprise if it wasn't actually on our anniversary. Plus ya know the kids are planning that surprise party for us then. Which reminds me, we should probably start practicing our 'surprised looks' soon."
Tom laughs, "You're an incredible woman Mrs. Hughes." He takes her in his arms, and holding the back of her head, pulls her into a passionate kiss.
When they slowly pull apart, Margo is breathless. It always amazes her that the feel of her husband's lips on hers still takes her breath away after 25 years. She playfully pushes Tom away, "There's plenty of time for that later Mr. Hughes."
After they board the boat she sends Tom down to the small bedroom at the bow of the boat to change into the clothes she brought for him. While he is changing she quickly makes the rest of the preparations for their evening. She is glad that she had driven down to the boat earlier that day to stock it with all the necessary supplies. After she is done setting everything up, she sits on a cushion in the cockpit and waits for Tom.
Tom changes his clothes slowly, deep in thought. He can hear Margo going back and forth from the cabin to the cockpit. His mind is still reeling from all she has done so far. He knows Margo loves him deeply, but usually he is the romantic one in their relationship, the one to pursue. It gives him a heady feeling to be the one pursued for a change. It feels wonderful to know she had done all of this for him...for them.
When the sounds of his wife moving around cease, Tom ventures up from the cabin wearing the khaki shorts and dark blue polo shirt Margo had packed for him. His skin is already tanned from working in the yard the past few weeks. As he climbs the steps back up to the cockpit and sees Margo waiting for him, he stops and looks around. He sees she has spread a quilt on the floor and piled cushions all around it. On the blanket there is a picnic spread out, including crackers, cheese, and chocolate covered strawberries. She has a bottle of champagne chilling in a bucket. Over the sounds of the waves lapping against the boat, he can hear "Valentine" playing softly. A few lanterns that have been placed on the benches cast a soft glow and provide the only light other than the full moon in the darkening sky.
As his eyes make contact with his wife's, he feel a lump forming in his throat as his eyes fill with tears. He is overcome with a feeling of such deep love for this woman. Not just love for everything she has done for this night of theirs together, but a profound love that comes from almost a lifetime of knowing someone so well.
"I'm so lucky to have you." Tom says, his voice shaking just a little, as he sits next to Margo on the floor.
"No, I'm the lucky one." Margo says softly.
Tom cups Margo's cheek. "No, I'm the lucky one," He says with a hint of playfulness in his voice now.
"No, really I'm the lucky one," Margo says smiling, catching the playfulness that is now in Tom's tone and matching it with hers.
"Ok, you're the lucky one." Tom says with mock seriousness.
Margo playfully smacks him on the shoulder before putting her arms around him. "How 'bout we're BOTH the lucky ones."
"Well said Mrs. Hughes."
Margo looks into Tom's eyes, turning serious again. She brushes her lips against Tom's, "Ya know my love, we've built quite a life together."
Tom's eyes glisten again with unshed tears of happiness and love for his wife. He takes Margo's hands in his and looks into her eyes, "I can't imagine spending my life with anyone else but you. I'm so thankful for you. I'm thankful every night when I fight you for the covers- even when you win. I'm thankful every morning when I watch you sleep so peacefully after you've worked late. I'm thankful when I see you helping Danny with his homework, and I'm reminded how big your heart is and what a great mom you are to ALL our kids. I'm thankful every Sunday afternoon when I'm on the couch watching baseball and you come and lay your head on my lap and watch with me- even though I know you don't really like baseball. I'm thankful every sunny day I see you out in the garden pulling weeds- with dirt all over you and the sunlight shining on your hair. I'm thankful every rainy day I find you curled up on the couch reading one of your detective novels- wearing my old Cubs sweat shirt and your pink, fuzzy slippers. And I'm thankful every evening when I fall asleep watching the news and you wake me with a kiss to take me to bed."
"You always had a way with words." Margo quips, caressing Tom's cheek, her voice full of emotion. "Baby I'm so thankful for you too. I'm thankful when you hold me in your arms at night- even if I do hog the covers. I'm thankful when you wait up for me when I've had to work late. I'm thankful when I feel down on myself and you know just what to say or do to make me feel better. I'm thankful when I see you relaxing by the fireplace- the way the light of the fire reflects in your hazel eyes. I'm thankful when I see you playing catch with Danny in the backyard because it reminds me what a wonderful father you've always been to all our kids. And I'm so thankful you've stuck by me and loved me even when I pushed you away. You've gotten me through some of my darkest times. Without you I'd be so lost. I was so scared when you had your heart attack. You're my life. You're my reason, Tom."
Tom holds Margo's face in his hands and wipes a tear that is falling down her cheek with his thumb. He is so overcome with emotion again that he doesn't trust himself to speak. Instead he takes Margo's hand and leads her back onto the pier, just next to the boat. As "If You Say my Eyes are Beautiful" begins to play, he pulls her close and they begin to dance.
Margo lays her head on Tom's shoulder and closes her eyes. As the wind blows through their hair and millions of stars twinkle in the now dark night sky, she and Tom are both flooded with memories of their life together...images swirling in their minds as they dance...
Skinnydipping in Snyder pond...
At Memorial after Casey's birth...
Kissing on the beach at Cape Cod and Adam diving on top of them...
In the exam room at Memorial after Margo's rape, Margo and Tom both crying ...
Tom comforting Margo at the Rape Crisis Center after her first visit there...
Making love on the floor by their fireplace...
Tom hearing Margo's voice on the phone after the Grimaldi plane crash...
Tom with his arm around Margo as she finally talks to him in the little restaraunt near the site of the plane crash...
Tom soaking wet in their backyard, Margo holding the hose...
Dancing on the rooftop in the snow...
Margo in the Lakeview hotel room watching Tom come out of the bathroom wearing nothing but a towel...
Dancing after renewing their wedding vows...
A devastated Tom holding an equally devastated and terrified Margo when they learned she had HCV..
In the hospital before her liver transplant, Margo giving Tom her wedding ring to hold onto...
On their couch by candlelight, Margo wearing her pink, fuzzy slippers...
Dancing together at the '50's dance competition...
Kissing at the Lakeview on New Year's Eve...
Kissing in the kitchen when Tom got home from the hospital after his heart attack...
Sitting on the couch, Margo crying after Casey was sentenced...
While they continue to slowly sway to the music, it feels to them both as if their bodies have become one.
When the song ends and another starts, Margo wordlessly takes Tom's hand and leads him back onto the sailboat. He motions Margo to sit on the bench while he moves the food out of the way. He then pulls her back to her feet in front of him. Margo slowly removes Tom's shirt and admires his chest, running her fingertips up and down it. Locking eyes with hers, Tom pushes one of her dress straps off her shoulder. He then leans down to tenderly kiss her shoulder. He continues to drop kisses across her collar bone and up her neck. Moaning softly, Margo lets her head fall back as he kisses her. When he reaches her lips, he tenderly brushes his lips very lightly across hers and then continues to drop kisses down the other side of her neck, making his way to her other shoulder. Once there, he slowly slides the other strap off her shoulder with his teeth. He reaches in back of her to unzip the dress, and it falls to the floor. Pressing their bodies together, he rests his forehead against hers, their lips only a fraction of an inch apart. They remain like this, aware of nothing but eachother, their eyes locked together. The chemistry they share is almost palpable. When Margo can't resist the closeness of his lips any longer, she runs her fingers through his hair and kisses him deeply. They sink to the floor in eachother's arms, their lips never parting.
Hours later the night has become cool, and Tom and Margo lie snuggled under blankets, still on the floor of the cockpit. Tom props himself on his elbow and watches his wife sleep. She looks so beautiful in the soft moonlight that he can't resist reaching out and tenderly brushing back a peice of hair that has fallen in her face. As he tucks it behind her ear, he leans down and lightly kisses the tip of her nose. With Tom's gentle kiss, Margo lets out a soft snore. Tom shakes his head laughing to himself. He thinks back on what a perfect evening it has been. They have made love under the stars, and then fed eachother chocolate covered strawberries and sipped champagne. They have lain in eachother's arms and talked and laughed for hours about their life together. Then they had slowly and tenderly made love one more time as the moon high above reflected on the water and the waves gently rocked the boat. As a cool breeze blows, Tom holds Margo closer to him and lays his head on her shoulder. He closes his eyes and thinks about sailing with the woman he loves. He knows whichever direction the wind blows them, they will always have eachother and that their love will only grow stronger.