The sun was setting when Mr. and Mrs. Tom Branson walked hand-in-hand on the beach. She had just convinced him to take off his shoes and go barefoot. The sand felt warm and nice. Sybil's hair had grown out again. Tom swears he can still see the young woman, barely twenty years of age, whom he married.
"Can you believe its been five years already?", asked Tom.
"I barely felt the time pass.", answered Sybil. "This is the first time I've been to the beach since I was a girl.", she said facing the vast expanse of water.
"We've come really far have we?"
"Feels that way, but I have a feeling we haven't gotten that far yet." Sybil sat on the sand.
"You'll get your dress dirty!"
"You sound like Mama." She reached her hand to his. "Sit with me."
He did what she asked. Sybil rested her head on his shoulder.
"Do you think your family is looking for us?"
"They know this is our celebration. They can spare us a few moments alone. Let's be selfish for a while. I am happiest when we can take time for ourselves like this."
Sybil continued while looking out into the ocean. "I ran from my feelings because I thought there were things in life too good to let go. Then I took a look around at the world I lived in and saw how tiny it is. Dress fittings, charities, seasons. It was all so stifling and limited. You showed me a wider world full of endless possibilities. I wanted to see the world but realized I couldn't do it alone. At first you were just my guide but found out I wanted you for a lot of other things. I understood I needed you to be with me always; to laugh in my joys, to grieve in my defeats and share in my triumphs. I couldn't say what I felt but you always said what you felt. In time that gave me courage to be honest with my feelings. I don't know what the next five years, the next ten or even the next hundred will bring but I know as long as you're with me it will be all right. The beach, the sunset, the stars...They are more beautiful when we're togeth...Tom? What's the matter?"
Tears ran down his face. His shoulders trembled from his sobbing.
"It's nothing, love. It's just... Thank you... Thank you... Thank you so much... For loving someone like me. You make me so..."
She took him into her arms. She pressed his head in her chest. "Me, too. You make me happy, too."
"We've no shortage of moments of passion," said Tom. He raised his head and looked her in the eyes. "But its the moments of tenderness I most cherish."
She kissed him on the lips. Hers were light and soft like the air. "I love it when you hold me like this." said Tom Branson, who was at that moment the happiest man in the world.
Happy LSL week, everyone.
