Fleet of Time

/ roughwighting

Pixabay, Image by Angeles Balaguer from Pixabay , time flies“And I know, I must not waste it: this fragile gift of fleeting time for wonder, companionship and love,” Ray added.

Maria sat in stunned silence. He had just proposed to her, this man she’d met two months ago. This man who was nothing like her.

She was a delightful extrovert, loving people and dogs and yes, trees. She hugged trees. Ray was an introvert, a biologist who stuck his head toward test tubes while she danced the hours away, literally, in her dance studio. dancer, time flies, Pixabay

Ray looked like what he was – a dork. Dare she use such a perverse word? But he wore wire-rimmed glasses, mostly halfway down his nose, and his light blue eyes often gazed past her and into a universe she’d never entered.  He wore button down plaid shirts, consistently, and she’d never seen him in a pair of blue jeans. Pressed black or gray pants, always.

Maria was, well, she was beautiful. Everyone said so. Lithe and graceful, long wavy black hair framing mocha skinned perfection. Don’t laugh (she said, laughing at herself). Her last boyfriend quoted that to her once – that she was mocha-skinned perfection. He felt free to say that; he was cappuccino.  But Ray. Ray was as white as a daisy. Sometimes she wondered if he ever sat in the sun. But no, how could he, he was always in the MIT laboratory, when he wasn’t teaching 20-year-old geniuses.

Pixabay, kasgls, strawberryHe was a genius himself. He used his brain. She used her body. But if he was such a smarty, how’d he decide in eight weeks that they should pair? She was strawberry. He was asparagus. Yes, that was it. She was a fruit, he was a vegetable.

Ray was still on one knee in front of their table at The Capitol Grill. That was another thing. He ate meat. She was a vegetarian.

She knew what her answer must be. Pixabay, Kranich17, ying and yang, love story

Maria pulled Ray up and gently pushed him back in his chair. Her salad had been barely touched, and uncharacteristically, neither had Ray’s filet. He grabbed her hand and massaged it gently as if touching a rare object. 

He whispered, “Without you, I wouldn’t have been so aware of the frightening swiftness of the passage of time.” His eyes teared up as he brought her fingers to his mouth and kissed each one. “Say yes.”

Maria took in a deep breath. Probed the inside of herself, the gut and the heart and the spot between her eyes. Then in one loud exhale she whispered. . . .

. . . .

. . . .

. . . .

“Yes.”

This story was inspired at my writing desk  by the last lines in Things My Dog Has Taught Me by Jonathan Wittenberg.

 

141 thoughts on “Fleet of Time”

    • Fascinating how some (particularly academic) readers put down “romance” like it’s dirty or below high-brow literature. I feel the opposite. Without romance, the world would be a dark and dreary place. 🙂 Glad you enjoyed!! ❤

      Liked by 1 person

  22. Found myself holding my breath until Beth said yes–loved that this wasn’t a “wait-’til-next-week” cliffhanger and that she gave her answer. AND especially loved the contrast between fruit and veggie!
    🙂

    Liked by 3 people

  23. She’s also smart! Good looks and drama are fine for a while. But there’s nothing quite like being deeply loved by someone who realizes that each minute matters
    Lovely romantic story, Pam. They’re going to have to work out the food thing though. LOL..

    Liked by 3 people

    • Many thanks, Marian. I love the idea of being a “cappuccino” or a “mocha,” etc. I, unfortunately, am a weak white tea with cream. ;-( In the summer, I’m a light herbal tea with splotches of strawberry. :-0

      Liked by 1 person

    • Thanks so much for reading and enjoying and wondering about Maria and Ray. We readers are kind of like voyeurs. We can only guess how that twosome works, but I’m going to go out on a limb (sometimes I love cliches) and say their relationship will work – for their forever. ❤

      Liked by 1 person

    • I think “get away quickly” comes from our thinking mind. Could this possibly work, being such opposites? But when we go to our inside thoughts, the thoughts that know opposites attract for a reason, then I realize these two are meant for each other. 🙂 ❤

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  47. Awwww … Pam, a wonderful and heartwarming story. I held my breath as I read on, fearing that Maria would be swayed to ‘no’, not realising the gift of differences between her and Ray! Here is the magic of their love, the wonder of their life ahead! How dare you hold us on tenterhooks with the three lots of ellipses 😀😀 … …. ….. I scrolled slowly to the final ‘YES’. Hooray! You are an amazing storyteller, my dear friend! ❤️

    Liked by 2 people

    • Again, you make me smile. At first, I just typed in the “Yes” (giving Maria a second to decide). But then I got a bit impish and decided I better show that she didn’t answer right away. She had to bat away the “thinking” distraction (he’s not like me!) and allow the heart to answer. 🙂 LOVE your comments, always, Annika. Thank you. ❤

      Liked by 1 person

  49. A gentle reminder to not waste the fragile gift of fleeting time for wonder, companionship and love. Beautiful story, Pam. As I am married to someone so opposite of me in almost every way, I was so pleased and relieved when Maria said yes.

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  51. Wow, Pam, this is some incredible writing. A tale of love, a tale of two different backgrounds, two different personalities. A tale of an unexpected couple getting together in an unexpected way. Sometimes you just feel the love and it feels just right. Hope you are well, Pam ❤

    Liked by 2 people

  54. I sometimes envy people who are easily inspired even with just a desk.

    I myself, even though I have been pondering for a long time in the bathroom, am still not inspired. Ha ha.

    A beautiful story with a unique source of inspiration.

    Liked by 2 people

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  59. The opposites attract is something that we all know. Similarly the cause that Ray and Maria are so attracted to each other is because they are poles apart. This is a very passionate write up!! Hope to read more such works of passion from you.
    Don’t forget to go through my articles as well and drop in your valuable feedbacks.
    #MyWordsKraft

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