Finding Something True
Artist: Mike Cardwell
Lisa savored the book’s final line, gently closed the cover, and held it close to her chest. She heaved a heavy, satisfying sigh. She loved reading about Clair and Jamie and their adventures in Scotland. A woman from the twentieth century, traveling across time to be with her soulmate in feudal Scotland. A forever, ageless, enduring love. It must be magical to have a love so pure, so unending, so complete.
She looked out over her bed and her family. The girl Jack Russell, Birdie, was at her shoulder. Small, petite, puppy snores percolated from her. The boy Jack Russell, Rocket, was on her ankle. He twitched again and again, hunting uncatchable rabbits in his slumber. And the Great Dane, a 140-pound baby boy named Poco, was splayed out in the heart of the bed, lying on his back with legs and paws arching towards the ceiling fan. He was what was called a ‘blue’ in the Great Dane color vernacular and had a wide white blaze on his chest. As he slept, with his legs angled every which way, he appeared to be the world’s largest canine cockroach.
And there is my timeless love she thought, looking affectionately at the lone non canine in bed with her. Her husband David was sitting up, reading his own book. He had purchased the first four Artemis Fowl books for their middle son, in an endeavor to jump start the boy’s interest in any type of literature. The books had a protagonist who was a twelve-year-old criminal mastermind, what kid would not love them. Well, apparently, their kid. The gambit had failed utterly, the boy declaring the only books he would ever read were in the Harry Potter series. He continued by declaring, since he had read them all, he was done with reading. Game, set, match, advantage teenager.
It was at this point; her husband had decided not to waste the money he had spent on the books and began to read them himself. He had, just previous to this, finished all the books in The Witcher series and had been bookless, drifting, and pondering rereading ‘The Hobbit’, so new books came as a godsend. He had plowed through the first three in record time, reading a few chapters each night in bed before falling asleep. This was fine with her; she was doing the same with her Clair and Jamie books.
She smiled, as she watched him read. He lay, with a grin on his face reading a book meant for a twelve-year-old. She never would understand the attraction the books would hold for him. But in all fairness, he read a few chapters of her Outlander books and then had forever since referred to them, as her time-travel porn escape, so Que Sera Sera.
She felt a warm stirring, as she gazed on the love of her life. He would not be fighting for Scottish independence anytime soon, and she was not sure he could pull off the kilt thing, but he was her champion, always and forever. He had been a soldier most of his life, a man of upstanding morals, ethics, and discipline. He had been an outstanding father to all seven of their children, equal parts, playmate, taskmaster and confidant.
She knew the two of them had been blessed by the hand of God to have found each other, and to still be together after all the highs and lows, triumphs and body blows, life had thrown their way. David had once said that he would fight the world, knowing he was going to lose, if she stood by his side. She thought he was sweet for saying it. It was romantic and held pieces of a romance novel to think of him and her against the world, and her heart thrilled at the thought of how much he loved her.
Of course, he also had been heard to say he loved her because she was honest, funny, laid back, had a dirty mind and an even dirtier vocabulary, ate pizza, and let him touch her butt. So, she guessed she had to take the rough with the smooth. One thing she was absolutely convinced of, was the fact she would forever stand by his side; of that she was certain.
She was sure as she gazed at him, that she loved him more each moment they were together. Maybe it was the romance book, maybe the late hour. But she knew, he was older, grayer, paunchier, and gruffer, but she loved him more at this moment than she had an hour ago. The fact her love continued to grow after over two decades of marriage amazed her.
Reaching over, she slyly drew Artemis Fowl out of his hands and saving his place, snapped it shut.
“What?” asked David, a slight look of annoyance edging onto his face.
“How about,” she purred, pulling the covers up, and leaning over to place a feathered kiss on his cheek, “We put the dogs out back in the yard and play a little time-travel porn.”
She pulled back and gave him an exaggerated wink.
His annoyance immediately shifted to enthusiasm. He gently feathered a kiss back across her lips. Then, he purred back with his own wink, “Sounds perfect, but I get to be Clair this time.”
