As usual, they were lost.
But there was plenty of time and miles before they had to make a decision, and the road seemed to stretch out endlessly. It was an expansive feeling, including every cornfield, tree swing, mansion and simple shack they saw.
But this would be the moment he came closest to proposing to her. Proposing that they get married. Proposing that they consider themselves partners in the long term. Propositioning her, in every way. Begging her to give into the romantic impulse rather than to laugh it off. Their harmonies existed in so many ways, but he needed for her to acknowledge it as well.
He was suddenly gripped by the idea of singing sincerely to someone for the rest of his life. He was fairly certain that she'd be the one to take care of him on his deathbed and even more certain that she'd be less bitter about it if he posed the question now rather than later.
He gripped her hand. A half reassuring caress and half awkward friendship shake.
She started singing, and he got so sentimental that he nearly couldn't stand it. Just as quickly, she switched off the music.
"I know that The Group is going to be touring in the Fall,"
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. You had said before that you wanted to bring me along. That the guys would really love me,"
"They would, they do. They love hanging out with you,"
He was hedging suddenly. She had every right to bring this up, he was dreading it actually. That time that one of the guys brought along their girlfriend. How horribly that had ended. He trusted her, but he didn't trust them. Even when they had the original conversation, he felt this shadow creeping in on his optimism. He hated that she had to ruin such a lovely moment by bringing it up.
He hated himself even more for taking the moment away from her. From them. He suddenly hated everything. He screwed up his face to swallow back the tears that were still in his eyes. God, he wanted a drink.
Two For the Road Nancy Lamott
But there was plenty of time and miles before they had to make a decision, and the road seemed to stretch out endlessly. It was an expansive feeling, including every cornfield, tree swing, mansion and simple shack they saw.
But this would be the moment he came closest to proposing to her. Proposing that they get married. Proposing that they consider themselves partners in the long term. Propositioning her, in every way. Begging her to give into the romantic impulse rather than to laugh it off. Their harmonies existed in so many ways, but he needed for her to acknowledge it as well.
He was suddenly gripped by the idea of singing sincerely to someone for the rest of his life. He was fairly certain that she'd be the one to take care of him on his deathbed and even more certain that she'd be less bitter about it if he posed the question now rather than later.
He gripped her hand. A half reassuring caress and half awkward friendship shake.
She started singing, and he got so sentimental that he nearly couldn't stand it. Just as quickly, she switched off the music.
"I know that The Group is going to be touring in the Fall,"
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. You had said before that you wanted to bring me along. That the guys would really love me,"
"They would, they do. They love hanging out with you,"
He was hedging suddenly. She had every right to bring this up, he was dreading it actually. That time that one of the guys brought along their girlfriend. How horribly that had ended. He trusted her, but he didn't trust them. Even when they had the original conversation, he felt this shadow creeping in on his optimism. He hated that she had to ruin such a lovely moment by bringing it up.
He hated himself even more for taking the moment away from her. From them. He suddenly hated everything. He screwed up his face to swallow back the tears that were still in his eyes. God, he wanted a drink.
Two For the Road Nancy Lamott
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