A Thought
Outside a clouded window, across an icy street, a family plays in the snow. With no apparent concerns, no memories to hold them back, they appear to be happy. They are not happy by a textbook definition. They are happy by their own.
And though the snow is still falling, coating the driveway he will use the next day to go to work, he stays with his family and builds a snowman. The white flakes pile onto the perfect snowman as the family puts on the finishing touches. Two eyes and a hat are all it takes to finish off their masterpiece.
The cold settles in today, temperatures way below freezing. The weather is not lost on them. They are just too busy to notice it. They are too busy...being a family, having the time of their lives. Bundled up in gloves and hats, scarves wrapped around their necks, they escape into the comfort of their home.
Winter garments shed, heat reaching them, they make two cups of hot cocoa. They warm it up for too long but drink it anyway. Comfortable on their couch that is too small, they move together, holding on for the warmth. The size of the couch is not lost on them, only why it matters.
And as the cups tap down onto the table, a gift is exchanged from him to her. She loves it already even though it has not yet been opened. She realizes that someone has thought of her. He has thought of her.
Her fingers lift the top of the box to reveal only a smaller velvet box. She knows what it is and smiles. With the opening of the smallest of boxes, the greatest dream of hers comes true. It is evident in her smile, in her eyes, in the way she looks at him as she sees it.
It is the band she saw in that window all those years ago. It is the one she swore she would never see again as her plane flew away from the chill of New York City. And it is perfect. He knew it would be.
It becomes the band that gives her chills as it slides down her fourth finger. And it becomes a symbol of his family; of her family. She is his family. And he is hers.
They spend moments, maybe minutes just taking in the change. Their lives will change direction, not drastically, but enough. Their dreams will become one, easier to fulfill. Their house will become a home.
And in the porcelain candy dish that his sister bought them the day his house became hers, there are Christmas chocolates. They are only there for the holiday season, given away when the lights on the tree flicker out. His hand pulls from the dish a chocolate Santa Claus candy today. The green wrapper with the crumpled drawing of the traditional Christmas man is left on the glass.
She steals it from him, wanting it for herself. Seeing as he wants it too, it is broken in two, one for him and one for her. They share that one piece of chocolate as they share most everything else.
Tonight, they will go a Christmas party at the house of a friend. They will arrive to find only a few guests. This Christmas party will be small but still just as it should be. It will be one of much discussion, many new memories.
The tradition of mistletoe in the doorway will not fail to continue tonight. They will be the first to leave when the night is young. Their goodbyes will lead them to their place in the doorway under the traditional mistletoe where they will kiss tonight as they have in many years past.
Tonight their mysteries will not be solved. Their life stories will not be recalled. Their pasts will not be revealed. For them, the truth is rarely pure and never simple; but tonight, it is pure and it is simple.
They are together, never to be apart again. And tonight, that is the only truth they need.