Aaron tried to keep his cool as he weaved between the lanes of traffic. He knew the effort was futile, but doing so made him feel like he was making up for time. Having gone into work earlier, he should have left a half hour ago, but being such a creature of habit, he had forgotten to leave work early. He knew he would be cutting it close now because of it.
As he rushed into the house, a frenzied cry came from the bathroom, “Don’t come in here!” Apparently, Aaron’s delayed return home had not given Anastasia enough time to prepare. She still occupied the bathroom. “I’m almost done,” she amended.
Taking her on her word, Aaron went straight to the bedroom while the Princess finished up, and began sifting through his closet to find the right combination.
Why hadn't I thought to pick out what to wear sooner? Obviously I’ll wear one of the suits, but which shirt will go best? Then, of course, there is the tie to match as well! What exactly does ‘black tie’ mean, anyway? Is my tie supposed to be black? Or am I just supposed to wear a tie?
Before coming to a conclusion, Anastasia called out, “I’m done, bathroom is all yours,” as she slipped into the guest room to finish preparing. Frustrated at being faced with such a difficult selection, Aaron conceded and proceeded to the bathroom.
Waiting for the water to warm up while undressing, Aaron paused to look at his face again in the mirror. “Should I shave it? Or just trim it? Or should I leave it all there? A goatee, maybe?” he quietly mused to himself. How silly! I can’t even make such a stupid, simple choice! You would think I was preparing for the most important date of my life!
That last thought brought a smile to the Speaker’s face. It had been a while since he had been so flustered over a girl. How fortunate that he was able to call this one his wife.
With the time quickly slipping away, Aaron jumped in the shower and hurriedly cleaned up, scruff and all. Glancing at the clock as he stepped out, he calculated his remaining tasks and time, “Nine minutes. That should be enough.”
After finally coming to a conclusion on what suit, shirt, and tie combination to wear, he glanced at the clock again. Out of time. He calculated wrong.
“Sorry, I’m not quite ready yet!” He called out as he tried to sneak and close the hallway door, preventing Ana from seeing him yet. He knew she had something special for him as well, and he didn't want to spoil his own surprise either. However, as he reached out for the door’s handle, he spotted the Princess through the cracks of the hinges.
Aaron’s heart jumped.
For a split second, his head rang with euphoria as he clung to the image burned in his mind. He didn't see everything, but that small peek shortened his breath and accelerated his heart. If he lacked the motivation to hurry before, he didn't anymore.
Racing to add the finishing touches, Aaron gave one last glance in the mirror and confirmed he was finally ready. He wanted his Princess to be ready as well, “Okay, I’m ready now.”
“Wait just a second,” Ana replied. Aaron paused. “Okay, you can come out now.”
Wow, that really was just a second. Aaron opened the door and everything stopped.
A third visitor quickly interrupted the moment by coming to greet Aaron as well. Kiba, Aaron and Ana’s six month old border collie, insisted on some attention. But the Speaker only had eyes for the beauty before him. “Wow! You look absolutely…”
“HEY!” Aaron cut himself off, turning his attention to Kiba who would no longer be ignored. “DOWN!”
Kiba lowered her head and slunk away. “Sorry, Princess. Just a moment.” Aaron excused himself and turned to his puppy with a softer voice. “Sorry, girl. You don’t know it, so it’s not your fault, but tonight is a special night and we don’t want to get our clothes all dirty,” he sang as he scratched behind her ears.
“You look pretty good yourself,” Ana remarked with a raised brow. “You really like the dress?”
“I love it!” Aaron responded, turning to Anastasia once again.
“Well, we need to get going to make our reservation,” Ana urged.
Aaron tried to take a few pictures with his simple camera phone before they let Kiba out and proceeded to exit through the opposite door.
As they drove to the restaurant, Aaron stole frequent glances and his Princess. She truly is stunning! I hate that I don’t recognize that as often as I should.
Reminded of why she never wears such absurdly inconvenient clothes, Anastasia disguised her discomfort well with her walk, but her words left nothing to hide, “I think I’ll want to stop back at the house after dinner and get some different shoes.”
Aaron couldn't help but chuckle. He wouldn't have her any other way.
After enjoying their meal, Aaron obliged, and they returned to change out her shoes before continuing on to the dance.
Pleased to see that they were not the only ones who had chosen to dress up for the occasion, Aaron and Ana proceeded into the dance hall to join the many other couples who had already arrived.
The music and dancing were already well under way, but Aaron felt his anxiety rising at the thought of joining all the silly flailers. Although he respected their ability to completely ignore any eyes that might be watching them, Aaron struggled to share in the dancers’ disregard to looking like drunken fools on a tempest tossed ship.
However, tonight was about Anastasia. He would wrestle his fears to the ground to try to make the evening good for her.
Slowly, he began to win that fight and join with the other fools. His fears and anxieties slowly melting away. Suddenly, it all went wrong when Ana burst into laughter. “I just had this image in my mind of what you were doing. I only saw you from the corner of my eye, but it reminded me of one of those air dancers outside a car dealership.”
Wrong thing to say. Aaron instantly froze, his biggest fear rearing its ugly head in front of him, baring its wicked teeth, and sinking them deep into his flesh. Immediately, he felt deep pain and hurt surge through him, threatening to burst out. With strained force, he swallowed that pain until he was sure it wouldn't manifest in his voice. “This is why I have a hard time acting silly,” he quietly responded.
Although he hid it well, Ana knew him better. She knew he was hiding something bigger. She knew she had struck a sensitive nerve and wasted no time in her attempts to console, “No, I didn't mean it like that. I’m sorry. It’s not what you were doing, it was just what I was imagining in my head.”
“Ana,” Aaron started, “You have to understand. I need to feel more secure with you than with anyone else. I need to know, that with you, I can make a fool of myself, and it will be okay. Not just that you accept me, but that I’ll be protected from my fears and worries.” As usual when describing his own feelings, Aaron had a sudden insight as to the way he treated Ana and her silliness. The sudden mixture of pain and guilt threw him into emotional confusion. Am I seriously the only guy in the world that gets emotional like this?! Or is the rest of the male population just really good at keeping it to themselves?
Wanting to both apologize for the way he had often reacted to Ana in the past, and continue to lament his grief at insult, Aaron stayed silent. What truly mattered right now was to keep from spoiling the evening. He struggled for a short while, fighting with his desires to let loose his anguish.
The truth of the matter was that he had expressed himself already. Anastasia heard and understood. With nothing left to say, Aaron knew that more words would only spread misery. So he slowly began to sway and bounce to the music once again, ever gaining traction and trust.
After enough time, his spirit began to lift again even higher than before. In spite of the difficulty of the moment, he had managed to remove a barrier that had kept him separated from the Princess. And now he felt closer than before.
That feeling, of breaking through a wall that he had never known existed before, burned warmly in Aaron’s heart. So soon into his commitment, and already he could feel that it was working. And this specific date had not even been his idea.
Although he was only at the beginning, he knew that this was a sign of all that was to come. Both the good and the bad. And the good would be well worth the bad.
No comments:
Post a Comment