And I Love Her

A Saturday morning in early June, Roy rolled over in bed unable to sleep, and glanced at the clock on his night stand…three o'clock in the morning read the lit up clock face. Carefully pushing himself up in bed, he looked to his right at the sleeping figure beside him. As a smile found its way to his face, Roy studied the silhouette lit up by the moonlight steaming through the opened window…his wife Joanne.

Taking in the soft curves of her face, he wanted to reach out and touch her soft skin, but held back not wanting to wake her. Her hair, at one time dark and short, was now lighter and almost shoulder-length, and delicately framed her face.

As his eyes continued further down, he took note of the white nightgown she had on. It was lacy on top, and he knew the rest of it was sheer on the bottom. He watched the gentle rise and fall of her chest, as she continued to sleep peacefully, oblivious to the fact that she was being watched.

Roy was not demonstrative with his feelings. He also had what he had mentioned on several occasions, was built-in insulation. But at this moment he was suddenly flooded with such love and admiration for his wife. He wasn't sure why he was besieged with these feelings all of a sudden. The previous shift hadn't been particularly eventful, but perhaps a couple of other things had contributed to him feeling this way.

Sitting up in bed, Roy tilted his head back on his pillow and replayed several conversations from the previous shift, in his mind. The first thing that came to mind was the constant bickering between Johnny and Chet about the recent double date that the two of them had gone on together…a disaster as was usually the case. Another thing that may have contributed to his current mindset was Johnny's recent obsession with several new nurses at Rampart. Those obsessions of Johnny's when it came to the nurses, usually did not turn out quite so well. But perhaps, and most telling was the recent news that several colleagues of his were divorcing. One of which was practically a newlywed, and another one was a captain who had been married for almost 25 years.

Roy supposed it was these types of things that made him feel so vulnerable all of a sudden. Married for 13 years, and his mother-in-law aside, he and Joanne had a great partnership.

Roy continued to think about how fortunate he truly was. Joanne had never questioned his desire to be a firefighter or paramedic, despite knowing the obvious dangers of the profession. In fact, she had always been downright supportive of him, especially when he had decided to become a paramedic. She ran the household, and took wonderful care of Chris and Jennifer, who were now ages nine and six.

His mind going a mile a minute, Roy knew he wanted to do something special for his wife.

"Breakfast in bed," he said softly to himself. "I'll make it so special so she knows just how much I love her."

Content with his decision, Roy slowly lowered himself back into a horizontal position. However, he was too excited to sleep. He thought about other special things to do for her…a warm bubble bath with candles and soft music came to mind.

After lying in bed for another hour and a half, Roy got up. He wanted to be as quiet as possible so as not to wake up Joanne. He put on his blue robe, and tiptoed out of the room and down to the kitchen.

Getting down to business, he treated his breakfast preparations with the same care and consideration as he would an injured victim.

Once he was finished, he put everything he prepared on a wooded lap tray, and carefully made his way up the stairs and back up to the bedroom.

Opening her eyes, Joanne thought she was imagining things when she smelled the delicious aroma of freshly brewed coffee. However, upon further inspection, she realized that she was not imagining things.

"What's this, Roy?" she asked as she pushed herself up in bed.

"Breakfast in bed," he replied with a smile.

"But why? It's not my birthday…our anniversary…Valentine's Day…or Mother's Day. What's the occasion?" Joanne was thrilled with the sudden surprise, but rather confused by it, as well.

"Because…I love you."

Placing the wooden tray on Joanne's lap, he then leaned in and gave her a gentle kiss, reminiscent of their very first one as a couple.

"Wow…" Joanne couldn't stop grinning. "The fireworks are still there."

"Good to know that this old body still has it, Jo."

Joanne was quite amused. "You never lost it, Roy."

Looking down at her breakfast tray, she was quite impressed with her husband's effort. On her best setting of china were scrambled eggs, bacon, rye toast, and French toast with strawberries on top. Coffee and a wine glass full of orange juice rounded out the meal. The final touches included one of her best linen napkins, and a small vase with a red rose in it. Truth be told…they didn't have a rose garden. What Roy did was sneak over to his neighbor's yard, and cut a rose from his garden.

Looking into her husband's blue eyes, her own green eyes conveyed a deep love and appreciation to him.

"I don't know what to say, Roy. I…"

Putting his finger over her soft pink lips, Roy gently shook his head. "You don't have to say anything, Jo. Just know that I love you so very much. I may not always say it…I'm a man of fewer words than some…and I may not always show it, either…"

Joanne understood what Roy meant, however she was still unsure of where this sudden rush of emotion was coming from. She figured that she would just go with it and enjoy it. She would get Roy to open up more later.

"Aren't you joining me, Roy?"

"I ate while I was cooking for you. But…I'm not going anywhere. My place is right here beside you."

Running through Joanne's mind was how glad she was that the kids were at a friend's house until the next morning. It wasn't that she didn't love her kids…she adored them. It was just that she and Roy had so little alone time together, and she was looking forward to it, especially given Roy's current romantic mood.

While Joanne enjoyed her breakfast in bed, Roy was beside her reading the newspaper and whistling.

"Enjoying the meal?"

"Of course, honey. It's delicious…who wouldn't enjoy a breakfast like this?"

"I'm glad…because you deserve it. After you're all finished, and I clean up in the kitchen, I have more plans for you."

Blushing a bit, Joanne softly giggled. She couldn't help but wonder what else Roy had planned for her…or them.

"I think I'm all done now."

Getting up, Roy went around to Joanne's side of the bed and lifted the breakfast tray off of her lap.

Giving her a kiss, he started for the bedroom door.

"Roy…don't go. The dishes can wait. I have some plans of my own for us."

Over the next few hours Roy and Joanne reconnected romantically in a way that they hadn't in quite some time.

After a very passionate morning, the two of them were relaxing in a hammock in their back yard, Joanne snuggled cozily next to Roy, her head nestled on his chest.

"Roy, you've never made me feel more like a woman than the way you did this morning…and I thank you for that."

"You deserve it, Jo. I've started to realize just how much I tend to take you for granted."

Lifting her head up, she looked into her husband's blue eyes.

"Roy…I have never once felt like you've ever taken me for granted…not ever. But I do have to ask…what happened that suddenly made you feel this way?"

Roy took a few moments to answer. "Not really one thing…more like a few. I guess it started with Johnny and Chet's bickering about another disastrous double date. They really just got on my nerves. Things kinda escalated from there. Johnny found some new nurses at Rampart. I think it was at that point that I realized how glad I was to be married. But the exclamation mark came at supper that night. Captain Stanley was telling us about a friend of his, a fellow fire captain whose wife decided she didn't want to be married to him anymore…after 25 years. Another paramedic…a newlywed…was divorcing after only two years when his wife ran off with an old boyfriend. There were a few others, too."

As Joanne listened to her husband's tale, she began to understand why he felt the way he did.

"Roy…I understand you feeling the way you do, but you don't have to worry about us. I'm not going anywhere, and I'm pretty sure you're not either, especially after this morning."

Roy took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "I woke up at three this morning and it hit me. I sat in bed watching you sleep, and I realized just how magnificent you are. You're more beautiful now than you were, even on our wedding day. You've given me two wonderful children, and helped to make our house a home. And most importantly, when I became a firefighter and then a paramedic, you didn't bat an eye. I just don't know how to thank you, Jo."

"You just did," she replied laying her head back down on Roy's chest. "By the way…what song were you whistling this morning?"

"The Beatles' And I Love Her. And I really do."

Stroking Joanne's silky brown hair, Roy kissed the top of her head, and started to whistle the just mentioned song.

The End