The Moment She Tells Him

Joe and Kathleen had been blissfully dating for merely a month when it caught Kathleen off guard. It hit her suddenly like she was run over by a poorly driven cab and it stirred something inside her that ended up bringing her to tears. She sat at her desk sucking in her breath as the tears fell. She wasn't really sure why she was crying, because after all she had never been happier in her life. She never felt this way with anyone before. She tried to calm herself down because she knew Joe was going to be coming over any minute and she didn't want to have to explain herself. A few seconds later, she heard the key in the lock and she realized she was too late. Joe opened the door while Kathleen sniffed and attempted to wipe away any evidence that she had been crying.

"I hope you're in the mood for Chinese." Joe called, setting the food on the dining table.

Kathleen got up from her chair and padded her way into the living room/dining room. "Chinese sounds great." she said, making her way into the kitchen for some plates and silverware, trying to hide her face until any sign of her tears were gone.

"Is something the matter?" Joe asked, noticing how Kathleen was acting.

"Everything's great." she responded in a pitch that Joe noticed was off.

Joe followed her into the kitchen, "Are you going to tell me what is really going on or am I going to have to go to extreme measures to get it out of you?" he asked leaning against the counter opposite to the one she was standing at with her back to him.

"It's nothing, I just I had a little revelation about us today and it caught me off guard and I reacted in a way I didn't think I would." Kathleen said, her back still facing him as she reached for some plates from the cabinet.

"What was the revelation?"

Kathleen turned to face him, her palms on the edge of the counter. "I just realized that I can't imagine my life without you and the thought of my life without you upsets me more than you can even fathom."

Joe gazed into her eyes, full of vulnerability, smiled an endearing, eye crinkling grin as he took a few steps closer to her. He wrapped his arms around her body, drawing her close to him in an embrace. "Kathleen, you know I love you, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that I feel the same way about you. A life without you would be..." Joe paused as he pulled away from her briefly to look at her, "...unbearable."