So far this is the shortest story, but it's also one that I like a lot. I feel like it embodies the relationship between Miranda and her first husband pretty well.
It's a Quiet Thing: Tucker Andrew Jones - Miranda Gloria Bailey (1995)
Ever since she was little, Miranda Bailey always believed that love was a thing to be celebrated with fireworks and trumpets. It was supposed to be a loud and glorious thing. But as she lay in bed, tangled up in skin with her new husband, sleep still in their eyes, the one thing she reveled in was the quiet. It was very, very, quiet.
Normally she was up extra early so she could get to the hospital, but today she felt no rush, no need to move from the bed, no need to remove herself from the arms of Tucker Andrew Jones. No, she definitely didn't feel any need to do that last one. She matched her breathing with the man sleeping beside her, savoring the warmth of his body. "Good morning, husband." She whispered softly into the morning air.
She had been worried, when she first thought she was in love, that it wasn't a loud affair. With a smile, she let her mind wander to the first time she had dared voice her concerns to her mother. It had been an unusually hot day so she and her mother were sharing a pitcher of lemonade on the back patio. Her mother had sensed that something was off and she had wasted no time in dragging it out of her.
"I'm worried that Tuck loves me." She had said.
"That's wonderful darling! Why should you be worried?" Her mother had gushed before turning serious. "Tell me truthfully, do you love him?"
"I don't know mama. I thought love was supposed to be big and grand, but I don't feel that with Tuck."
"Oh honey," her mother chuckled. "Love doesn't have to be a big brass band, it doesn't even have to be a string quartet, it can be as simple as a man with a kazoo."
"But, you and dad..." Miranda started before her mother put up her hand.
"What your father and I have is special. It's grand and romantic and full of noisy love, but it's the exception, not the rule. Having a relationship that's characterized by small, quiet acts of love is just as special." She let her daughter think that over for a minute before asking her again. "Now Mandy, I'll ask you once more, do you love him?"
This time Miranda smiled and looked into her glass. "I think I do."
As Miranda opened her eyes from her dreamy trip down memory lane, she suddenly realized that she was alone in the bed. From the bathroom she could hear the sound of the shower and her husband's voice singing aloud. She chuckled silently to herself as she rolled over, only to have her eyes settle on something unexpected. A single Hershey kiss with a note taped under it, which had definitely not been there when she woke the first time, rested on Tucks pillow. 'Have a good morning kiss and then come join me for another' the note read. She flipped it over to find a single thing written on the back, but it was something that made her heart swell. 'Good morning, wife.' Miranda popped the chocolate into her mouth. "It's a quiet thing." She smiled to herself as she got out of bed and made her way towards the bathroom.
