Love Through Exhaustion
Sybil loved her job. Being a doctor was all she had ever wanted as a career. But it had proved to be the most stressful element of her life. No matter what life threw at her, it was easy compared to her career. Today was one of those days when she really wished that her job was just a tad easier.
In order to remain registered as a professional, she had to show that she was continuing her education, which usually meant going to a conference a few times a year. They were usually interesting and provided her with a wealth of knowledge which would be valuable to her in years to come. Today, she had travelled to one such conference. The conference in itself hadn't caused any problems. She had enjoyed her day and was keen to use her newfound knowledge in her work. The train journey home, on the other hand, had been a nightmare.
Had everything gone to plan, she would have been on one train for about half an hour, and then on another for about an hour and a half. But due to the conference finishing late and the train station being too large for Sybil to quickly figure out where platform seven was, she had missed the train. This meant that she had to wait half an hour for the next train and then, when at the next station, would have to wait for a further three quarters of an hour because missing the first train meant that she wouldn't make the connection either.
Sybil had no problems with railway stations. In fact, she enjoyed travelling by train. She liked that once she was on the train, she didn't have to do anything if she didn't want to. She could relax and listen to music or read a book or just stare out of the window and watch the world go by. But when she missed a train, there was nothing she could do but wait for the next one, which was both inconvenient and dull.
When she finally walked through the front door, more than an hour later than she had intended, she braced herself to be run down by her children. But instead, she was quietly greeted by Tom.
"Hey, love," Tom said quietly before kissing Sybil softly.
"Sorry I'm so late," Sybil said, despite having sent Tom various texts throughout the evening, so he already knew she was going to be late.
"It's not your fault," he said as he took her coat from her and hung it on the wooden coat stand which had been given to the couple as a wedding gift from one of Sybil's old school friends.
Sybil kicked her black boots off, leaving them sprawled on the floor, and planning on dealing with them tomorrow morning.
"Where are the kids?" she asked.
Sybil and Tom had three children. Their eldest, Lucy, was nine years old and was exactly like her mother in looks and personality. She had dark, unruly hair, and bright blue eyes. She was very clever – the top of her class, and she was the most stubborn child Sybil and Tom had ever known. The middle child of the three, Max, was five years old and wanted to be a doctor like Sybil. He had very light blonde hair and blue eyes with green flecks, which sparkled in the sunlight. His cheeks were freckled and he was very sporty. Their youngest child, Maggie, was four years old, and looked very like Tom, but behaved very like Sybil. She had sandy coloured hair, which lightened in the summer months and darkened in the winter, and her eyes were exactly the same shade of blue as Tom's. She was ambitious like Sybil, and always determined to succeed.
"Max and Maggie are both sound asleep. And Lucy's having a sleepover with Isla from school," Tom said as he walked away from Sybil and into the kitchen.
Sybil visibly and audibly relaxed when she heard this. She wouldn't have to worry about putting screaming children to bed or risk nearly falling asleep when reading a bedtime story. Sybil followed Tom into the kitchen and set her bag down on the side.
"Have I ever told you how much I love you?" she said.
"Once or twice," Tom smiled. He poured out two glasses of red wine and handed one to Sybil.
"You're two good to me, you know?" she said quietly, clearly exhausted from a stressful day.
"But you deserve it," Tom said, stepping closer to her and wrapping his arms around her waist. "You're the most incredible woman I know, Syb. You deserve heaps more than I can give you," he said lovingly.
"All I need is right here," Sybil said with a tired smile. She leaned in and kissed Tom softly, which he reciprocated willingly.
"Come on," Tom said, taking her by the hand and leading her into the sitting room, picking up his own glass of wine on the way.
Sybil didn't hesitate at all. She followed her husband without protest, and settled next to him on the sofa, leaning into his warmth. Tom turned the TV on and they sat watching mindless sitcoms as they talked to one another about their days. They'd been sitting together for less than an hour when Tom realised that his questions weren't being answered anymore. He kissed Sybil's head lightly and smiled at his wife. Tom could tell that she was shattered and didn't have the heart to wake her up just to move her up to bed where she would instantly fall asleep again. So, instead, he carefully grabbed a blanket, which was only just within his reach, and laid it over himself and his wife. Tom turned off the television and settled down to sleep on the sofa with his wife. If he had been asked when he was a teenager how a romantic evening should pan out, he would have said a candlelit meal for two, maybe followed by a gentle stroll in the starlight. But now that he was married and had been in love with Sybil for such a long time, he could see that in moments like this, there seemed to be nothing more romantic in the world than spending time with a loved one, just to show that you care.
It's just typical that over the summer I had loads of time and barely wrote anything, and now that I have work to do, I'm spending my time writing. Anyway, this idea just popped into my head, so I wrote it. It's not the best piece I've ever written, but I hope you enjoyed it. And if you did, please leave a review. It really means a lot to me to know what you think.