His eyes crinkle at the corners when he smiles and a kind of Come hither, but not too close look settles on his features. He winks at her but it's an empty promise made mostly of memory, no future in it. They have come to the inevitable Just good friends part, a place of no regrets, no repeats, and no turning back. There is a trace of sadness in these moments but only a trace - there is still chemistry between them although they rarely speak of it except with a now and again shared look or a hug and in spite of this sense of longing, it's still a happy ending. All things, good and bad, have their time and place. They last however long they last then grow into something else or drift away.
Unlike a good many men, this one strayed with considerable effort, the thought of jeopardizing his family or bringing harm to his wife always with him. He literally put his life into her hands, trusting that she wouldn't betray him, that she would let go when the time came. While she was lost the very first moment she saw him, his feelings took sorting out and had to have time to build. She suspects that giving in took him a little by surprise and she knows that it caused him conflict. With time, she'd gotten over every man in her life - having learned something from each, having given to and taken from each. Some lasted only a night or two, some went on for years. Some wounded her and some healed, all came and went for reasons beyond her understanding, bringing equal shares of joy and heartache. But after ten years,she confesses she's beginning to wonder if this is the one she will not get over or perhaps simply doesn't want to. These memories aren't fading or getting fuzzy with the passing of time. He pulls up a chair next to her's and gives her a grin, a kiss, and a diet coke. It was good while it lasted, he says and she shakes her head and smile at him, this gentle, weathered, and weary man with a spark of mischief in his eyes and an inexhaustible spirit. No, she tells him and smiles in spite of herself, It was perfect.
There is an element of risk in every relationship, a possibility of being hurt or disappointed or left behind. Some of us outgrow people we love, drift apart from years of sameness, give in to a restless sense of curiosity, or maybe we just seek a change of face. Others settle in for the duration and live happily ever after. Some of us dive in with eyes wide open, some on a wish and a prayer. However we live, we endure and keep seeking, leaving risk management to the brokers and insurance salesmen.
No risk, no reward.
I'd rather die tryin' than never have tried at all - Jed Marum
Unlike a good many men, this one strayed with considerable effort, the thought of jeopardizing his family or bringing harm to his wife always with him. He literally put his life into her hands, trusting that she wouldn't betray him, that she would let go when the time came. While she was lost the very first moment she saw him, his feelings took sorting out and had to have time to build. She suspects that giving in took him a little by surprise and she knows that it caused him conflict. With time, she'd gotten over every man in her life - having learned something from each, having given to and taken from each. Some lasted only a night or two, some went on for years. Some wounded her and some healed, all came and went for reasons beyond her understanding, bringing equal shares of joy and heartache. But after ten years,she confesses she's beginning to wonder if this is the one she will not get over or perhaps simply doesn't want to. These memories aren't fading or getting fuzzy with the passing of time. He pulls up a chair next to her's and gives her a grin, a kiss, and a diet coke. It was good while it lasted, he says and she shakes her head and smile at him, this gentle, weathered, and weary man with a spark of mischief in his eyes and an inexhaustible spirit. No, she tells him and smiles in spite of herself, It was perfect.
There is an element of risk in every relationship, a possibility of being hurt or disappointed or left behind. Some of us outgrow people we love, drift apart from years of sameness, give in to a restless sense of curiosity, or maybe we just seek a change of face. Others settle in for the duration and live happily ever after. Some of us dive in with eyes wide open, some on a wish and a prayer. However we live, we endure and keep seeking, leaving risk management to the brokers and insurance salesmen.
No risk, no reward.
I'd rather die tryin' than never have tried at all - Jed Marum
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