The Square Root of Dreams
By Michael L. Craver
That is when he finally had to let her go. They both saw it coming. A long time ago they'd sat by a fire. Discussed the possibility that their ambition would divide them. Both had agreed to suck it up and do they are part. Now it was time to separate and carry their own share... Any reasonable couple would be doing the same thing.
Just a few moments ago she was riding on his back. Legs wrap around his hips while his bare feet pounded the sand. Then laughing and exhausted he fell at the water's edge. She splashed in the smallest of salted bubbles. She wondered what outside force brought them down.
The trip before it was the crabs. What did they expect playing on the beach at night? Two strangers making love in the distance. Too late to meander around waiting from afar, they tip-toed up the waterline and spotted the hotel. She climbed up his hips in the moonlight to make it exciting. So, he grabbed her thighs tight and dashed down the beach. She was bouncing up and down on him as they entered the boardwalk lights of the hotel.
Previously they were moments from washing off the sand. A crab snatched a small toe and he raised a foot. Both arms jerked around and grab his foot as she locked forearms around his neck. Grabbing his foot like a tree timbering down into the surf, she pulled his down with her weight. His windpipe compacted as he crashed through the incoming tide. He was beneath the surface of the water when he gasped for air.
From a distance people thought they were having a domestic dispute. She had to use those same arms to help him up. Sitting him up on the sand and solid shots to beat the sea water out of him. Onlookers thought he was drunk and ruining her fun. No one noticed the prelude when she was jockeying him back toward their destination. The crowd that gathered after the splash alerted them. Just in time they could listen to the soundtrack of fighting for air and packing sounds as she wailed on his back.
Only people who love each other can fall so hard. Put so much energy into their contact. Strangers only realized the danger as she asked for someone to help. By the time anyone came down the stairs he'd spit out most of the ocean inside of him. They realized he was the one who needed carrying. So many folks feeling foolish once they put the puzzle back together.
That night she tucked him in. Then she made her way to bed laying gently on his chest. Ears alert and listening to monitor his heartbeat. Both slept heavy through the night. Each waking to the open balcony door with coastal breeze and sunshine joining them in the room. He was already leaning on the rail when she walked out to join him.
The bright rays lighting up the second morning of their first vacation. His eyes watery from the power of the sunrise glow. She laughed and asked if he was enjoying himself yet.
Thinking they were safe from the troubles back home only to fight nature in the midnight hour. He laughed and told her he was wincing from the majestic morning or because he didn't have any binoculars. After dressing they went down to breakfast and tried to reset from the previous evening.
A waiter asked how they were enjoying their stay, when the man looked at him and said, "Everything is great except a bad case of the crabs." This threw his wife completely out of sorts. Not known for his political correctness she made it a point to apologize to the server. She got up to get ready to leave in her embarrassment.
That's when he raised his left sandal from under the table. She now realized how he lost his bearings the night before. The bite mark was fully across one toe and beginning another. Now she had the teary eyes and felt foolish. He ran his hand across her back gently. Telling her this is how to touch someone's back when they're all choked up.
A sense of humor has always been their release valve. How could she care so much in the dark and then walk out so quickly in the light?
Here they are grains apart. Separate without any sea creatures or shells to blame. They both agree. They've got to split up. Smaller versions they could hold the weight. He could carry her to no end. Even when they ran into something new. Not now.
She spent so much time doing research and coaxing him into the perfect design. One that has now divided them. The time has come to see if she can carry her share. He's not giving up by any means. However, their vacation and their trip has come to a sudden end. She sits astonished on the sand as he heads back to the hotel. With everything divided down the center of the car like the Red Sea parted by Moses, he parks by the boardwalk and goes to get her.
An awkward car ride awaits them. Bags shuffled on both sides, they can't hold hands or show any affection. The music lightens the mood as they sing from opposite sides. The joy and smiles didn't ever stop. Even with the distance they are covering and the space now between them. A house divided with a long journey home.
Stopping only for gas, they've made wonderful time and arrived back at the house they bought together. Foreclosed and in need of so much work. Just like two people who want to remodel themselves into a happy marriage. Lots of people end up dating a work in progress. Like when they bid on their home and each other, the future was never promised.
Unloading the car together, she throws bags carelessly at the bed. Some sit on the comforter and others bounce into the floor. Why not take a shower while he's busy in the garage without her? Toweling off and picking through her travel kit she finds what she wants. Dolling herself up to try and get his attention back. He's not spoken a word in a half an hour.
Will things really change? Perhaps their home and their relationship will never be the same. His discovery on the beach led to a division. From where they were as a couple and where they are going. Now feeling confident and strolling out of the bedroom in her robe she sees candles. What began a Summer afternoon by the coast is now a dim house.
He'd swiped an outfit and used the guest bathroom to freshen himself up. There's fresh cut rose blooms from their bushes outside. Two glasses waiting for a fresh bottle of wine. A good smelling gentleman that dropped her by the ocean hours ago is now transformed. Just like their living room is about to be.
A great deal of effort went into finding the perfect pieces of their home. Sure, they'd fallen in love and been flexible with each other. This new pattern they've envisioned was right before them. Flowers, refreshment, and candles all resting on an idea. Taking her hand, he spins her and dances over to the fireplace. One that had been missing the perfect mantle.
Now they rest in the floor. Sitting with their backs against the couch and heads upon shoulders, they toast. Perhaps the chiropractor is to follow. Tonight, they will talk and laugh. They'll brainstorm the next step in their journey. The mantle they found a few hours before is now resting in the floor in need of structure.
Every family has moments where someone falls. Sometimes they take everyone with them. This was a special one though. Carrying his wife down the beach in a romantic gallop, only to drop her in disillusionment. She wiped the sea suds out of her face, but instead of looking at him she saw only the driftwood. Too big for one person to carry. Barely fitting down the middle of their sedan on the ride home.
For now, it makes the shelf for a bottle and a vase. Tomorrow their living room will have a centerpiece. A story they can tell everyone. Dividing to conquer the weight of their dreams.
That is when he finally had to let her go. They both saw it coming. A long time ago they'd sat by a fire. Discussed the possibility that their ambition would divide them. Both had agreed to suck it up and do they are part. Now it was time to separate and carry their own share... Any reasonable couple would be doing the same thing.
Just a few moments ago she was riding on his back. Legs wrap around his hips while his bare feet pounded the sand. Then laughing and exhausted he fell at the water's edge. She splashed in the smallest of salted bubbles. She wondered what outside force brought them down.
The trip before it was the crabs. What did they expect playing on the beach at night? Two strangers making love in the distance. Too late to meander around waiting from afar, they tip-toed up the waterline and spotted the hotel. She climbed up his hips in the moonlight to make it exciting. So, he grabbed her thighs tight and dashed down the beach. She was bouncing up and down on him as they entered the boardwalk lights of the hotel.
Previously they were moments from washing off the sand. A crab snatched a small toe and he raised a foot. Both arms jerked around and grab his foot as she locked forearms around his neck. Grabbing his foot like a tree timbering down into the surf, she pulled his down with her weight. His windpipe compacted as he crashed through the incoming tide. He was beneath the surface of the water when he gasped for air.
From a distance people thought they were having a domestic dispute. She had to use those same arms to help him up. Sitting him up on the sand and solid shots to beat the sea water out of him. Onlookers thought he was drunk and ruining her fun. No one noticed the prelude when she was jockeying him back toward their destination. The crowd that gathered after the splash alerted them. Just in time they could listen to the soundtrack of fighting for air and packing sounds as she wailed on his back.
Only people who love each other can fall so hard. Put so much energy into their contact. Strangers only realized the danger as she asked for someone to help. By the time anyone came down the stairs he'd spit out most of the ocean inside of him. They realized he was the one who needed carrying. So many folks feeling foolish once they put the puzzle back together.
That night she tucked him in. Then she made her way to bed laying gently on his chest. Ears alert and listening to monitor his heartbeat. Both slept heavy through the night. Each waking to the open balcony door with coastal breeze and sunshine joining them in the room. He was already leaning on the rail when she walked out to join him.
The bright rays lighting up the second morning of their first vacation. His eyes watery from the power of the sunrise glow. She laughed and asked if he was enjoying himself yet.
Thinking they were safe from the troubles back home only to fight nature in the midnight hour. He laughed and told her he was wincing from the majestic morning or because he didn't have any binoculars. After dressing they went down to breakfast and tried to reset from the previous evening.
A waiter asked how they were enjoying their stay, when the man looked at him and said, "Everything is great except a bad case of the crabs." This threw his wife completely out of sorts. Not known for his political correctness she made it a point to apologize to the server. She got up to get ready to leave in her embarrassment.
That's when he raised his left sandal from under the table. She now realized how he lost his bearings the night before. The bite mark was fully across one toe and beginning another. Now she had the teary eyes and felt foolish. He ran his hand across her back gently. Telling her this is how to touch someone's back when they're all choked up.
A sense of humor has always been their release valve. How could she care so much in the dark and then walk out so quickly in the light?
Here they are grains apart. Separate without any sea creatures or shells to blame. They both agree. They've got to split up. Smaller versions they could hold the weight. He could carry her to no end. Even when they ran into something new. Not now.
She spent so much time doing research and coaxing him into the perfect design. One that has now divided them. The time has come to see if she can carry her share. He's not giving up by any means. However, their vacation and their trip has come to a sudden end. She sits astonished on the sand as he heads back to the hotel. With everything divided down the center of the car like the Red Sea parted by Moses, he parks by the boardwalk and goes to get her.
An awkward car ride awaits them. Bags shuffled on both sides, they can't hold hands or show any affection. The music lightens the mood as they sing from opposite sides. The joy and smiles didn't ever stop. Even with the distance they are covering and the space now between them. A house divided with a long journey home.
Stopping only for gas, they've made wonderful time and arrived back at the house they bought together. Foreclosed and in need of so much work. Just like two people who want to remodel themselves into a happy marriage. Lots of people end up dating a work in progress. Like when they bid on their home and each other, the future was never promised.
Unloading the car together, she throws bags carelessly at the bed. Some sit on the comforter and others bounce into the floor. Why not take a shower while he's busy in the garage without her? Toweling off and picking through her travel kit she finds what she wants. Dolling herself up to try and get his attention back. He's not spoken a word in a half an hour.
Will things really change? Perhaps their home and their relationship will never be the same. His discovery on the beach led to a division. From where they were as a couple and where they are going. Now feeling confident and strolling out of the bedroom in her robe she sees candles. What began a Summer afternoon by the coast is now a dim house.
He'd swiped an outfit and used the guest bathroom to freshen himself up. There's fresh cut rose blooms from their bushes outside. Two glasses waiting for a fresh bottle of wine. A good smelling gentleman that dropped her by the ocean hours ago is now transformed. Just like their living room is about to be.
A great deal of effort went into finding the perfect pieces of their home. Sure, they'd fallen in love and been flexible with each other. This new pattern they've envisioned was right before them. Flowers, refreshment, and candles all resting on an idea. Taking her hand, he spins her and dances over to the fireplace. One that had been missing the perfect mantle.
Now they rest in the floor. Sitting with their backs against the couch and heads upon shoulders, they toast. Perhaps the chiropractor is to follow. Tonight, they will talk and laugh. They'll brainstorm the next step in their journey. The mantle they found a few hours before is now resting in the floor in need of structure.
Every family has moments where someone falls. Sometimes they take everyone with them. This was a special one though. Carrying his wife down the beach in a romantic gallop, only to drop her in disillusionment. She wiped the sea suds out of her face, but instead of looking at him she saw only the driftwood. Too big for one person to carry. Barely fitting down the middle of their sedan on the ride home.
For now, it makes the shelf for a bottle and a vase. Tomorrow their living room will have a centerpiece. A story they can tell everyone. Dividing to conquer the weight of their dreams.
