I am the luckiest man alive.
Hildreth tied the bathrobe closed and put his hands on his waist. He admired his reflection in the bathroom mirror and swished his hips. “Mm. Mm Mmm! Luckiest man to ever don a very generic cotton bathrobe.”
“Hey.” Elsie said as she reentered the room.
Hildreth eagerly turned around. Much to his disappointment, she was already dressed. “Aww, Els. You should have come in here completely naked to show me some naked solidarity.”
She braided her damp hair and tied it up with a leather hair tie. “Naked solidarity, huh?”
“Yep! Best kind there is. It’s caveman philosophy. ‘I be naked if you be naked too.'”
Elsie laughed. “You are such an idiot. I hope you know that.”
“But, of course!” He wrapped his arms around her waist. “It’s what drew you to me.”
“Maybe.” she said teasingly. “Maybe not.”
“Tsk! There’s no maybe about it, Elsie baby. Not when it’s all that obvious.”
Her eyes shined like topazes in the sun. “How did I ever get so lucky?”
“Good clean living, without a doubt.”
“Hildreth Mayhew.”
He grinned as she got that look in her eyes, that intense look that he knew and loved so much.
She grabbed his hair on the sides of his head.
He laughed giddily.
“If you don’t kiss me right now—”
Hildreth didn’t give her a chance to finish her threat. He quickly moved in and kissed her.
If I could tell her. Oh, if only I could tell her how much I love her. So many words inside of me and I don’t know how to set them free. I don’t know what order to put them in so they make sense.
She ended the kiss and reluctantly released his hair.
He touched foreheads with her. “Do you know, Els?”
“Hm?”
“How much I love you?”
She nodded. “You love me as much as I love you. And trust me. That is a lot.”
He laughed. “My hair follicles agree.”
“You’ve told me so many times. You’ve shown me in so many ways. I’d have to be hopelessly clueless to miss something so obvious. And I am not clueless. I know what I know.” She smoothed his scrunched up hair. “I know what I see.”
“What do you see, Els?”
“You and me.” She smiled. “And our future three thousand kids.”
“And our grandchildren far down the road.”
“And their children.”
Hildreth smiled lovingly. “And you will be the most amazing and wonderful mom the world has ever seen.”
ambroseandelsie 