He drove the road, but he was lost. It wound around the mountain with yellow leaves hanging overhead. Some were falling like light snow. Red leaves were starting to turn on a few trees. Fall had arrived in his life.
Bright orange leaves caught her attention as she looked out the window. Her journey had taken so much longer than she expected. It was colder than weatherman had predicted. Why did she have to travel alone so long, she wondered silently.
The two traveled along, not knowing where the road would lead. They just knew they had to keep going. As the sun set, they drove west.
Sitting side by side on the drive, they reminisced about life before they met. The roads of those days were rough and long, but not today. The roads today were filled with love. She looked over at him with a hint of a smile showing contentment. Her smile stirred his heart.
His mind drifted again, and he thought about that day in the late 1960’s. She must have been a beautiful baby the day she was born. Her hair of brown – was it as silky as it was the last time his fingers ran through it?
Her cry? Was it soft and sweet that day? Were her eyes blue or green the first time she opened them? The light and colors around her had a way of changing the way he saw her eyes – sometimes light green and sometimes as blue as the sky.
Her eyes drew him in. Were they always filled with wonder and joy? The depth of those eyes seemed to go on and on. He had been lost in them before. They revealed her heart and soul where the Spirit of God resides. Was that look there at her birth, or had the years made them this beautiful, drawing him into her heart?
So many mysteries engulfed him about this lady. He wondered how she could be so wonderful. He had come to cherish her. She was a gift and treasured because only God could give a gift so precious as she. So, on the day of her birth, God must have known that one day she would bring joy and love to this man.
I was the man who had been blessed on this day – the day of her birth those years ago. My mind snapped back to the drive in the fall leaves. I looked over and smiled at her.
As sunset closed the day, a mountain breeze lowered the temperatures, and dark settled in for the night.
Hungry? I asked. Her head nodded yes, while her face beamed.
The restaurant was just off the road with low lights and a fireplace where our table was centered in front of it. We ordered a simple meal, tomato basil soup and grilled cheese on tomato basil bread. We shared the meal as the fire warmed us.
It was a simple meal shared in the quiet night while love was exchanged across the table through our eyes. We stood and hugged for a long second as time stood still. Then our hands laced together as we walked out, knowing more love than we ever could have imagined.
We will never forget that day, or the tomato soup and grilled cheese in front of the fire.
Happy Birthday my darling Tammie!
You are loved.
