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Weaving Life’s Tapestry

Friday Afternoon, 4:30 p.m., Hawaii Standard Time: She returns home from the bookstore in the rain.  She considers parking the car on the street, but it is Friday.  He does not have band practice, so they will be staying home.  She stops in the middle of the street, clambers from the car, opens the gate, then carefully backs the car into the driveway.  The driveway is narrow and She hates backing in, but feels very proud of herself because the car is parked and He won’t have to do it when he gets home.  She secures the gate and enters the house.

Almost immediately, the phone rings.  She crosses the room to answer it, still carrying her packages and her purse.  “Hello?”

He says, “It is pouring rain here and it’s gotten dark early.  I don’t want to ride the bicycle home.  Will you come get me?”

~*~

Saturday Morning, 10 a.m., Hawaii Standard Time:  He announces that he is going into the office to work.  He has things he wants to get done that are much easier to accomplish when his staff isn’t in.  She is not thrilled with his decision, but she understands it (and is still hopeful that He will compensate by taking Wednesday afternoons off as originally planned).  She walks outside with him.

Because the yard is fenced and the driveway is gated, She almost always walks outside with him.  As a rule, She kisses him good-bye, opens the gate, then waves at him as he drives away.  This morning She had every intention of doing the same.  When she approached him for the kiss good-bye, He frowned at her and backed away.  She stopped, shocked.

“What?”  She asked very defensively.

He said, “I thought you would drive me in and drop me off.  I don’t want to pay $6.00 per hour to have the car on campus.”

“Oh,” She says, and looks down at herself.  The dress she has on is literally a rag, albeit a very comfortable one.  “Uhm,” She says.  “Why don’t you wait right here for just a few moments?”

As she dashes in the house she hears him say, “Yes, good idea.”

~*~

Saturday Morning, 10:30 a.m., Hawaii Standard Time:  They arrive at the university and both of them step from the car.  She walks around the car to the driver’s side.  They kiss good-bye and as He’s walking away he says, “Pick me up about two.  I hope that’s enough time to get my work done.”

She says, “I’ll call before I come.”

He nods and turns away.  She opens the car door and puts one foot inside.  “Oh hey!”  He turns around and waves his right hand at her.  “I don’t want you to come back and pick me up at all!”  He is very adamant.

She frowns and says, “Wha-?”  Is this a break up?  Is He never coming home again?

He says, “I have the bike, remember?”

She says, “Oh, yeah.  Haha,” and suddenly she sees a series of seemingly unrelated events interwoven to create one big picture.

60 Comments

    1. Melissa — my love bikes 8 miles one way. About half the distance is highway. It has a painted white line along side it designating that 20 inches as bike path. Of course the motorcyclists consider themselves bikes, as do the skateboarders and joggers.

      As to living in paradise, be careful what you wish for. Have you see a modern day beach shack?

  6. Hmmmmm …. I think that I have to think on that one for a while. Like you said to Melli, reading his mind is right. I think I better keep the rest of my thoughts to myself. It seems that I took a mean pill today. LOL 🙂
    .-= Cherie´s last blog ..Saturday 9: I Call Your Name =-.

    1. Cherie — I hope you’re not upset with Amoeba. He never gets upset on the days I don’t back the car in. He knows why it makes me nervous. Since they raised the parking fees from $3.00 per day to $6.00 per hour, we do not take the car on campus — I should have remembered that and anticipated taking him to work — it’s not like this was the first time. And, I think he remembered the bicycle seconds before he reminded me. The point of my story was that I was not paying attention, or I would have seen the big picture all along.

      Also — his working does not upset me because I am being neglected. It upsets me because he pushes himself to the edge of exhaustion.

      1. I’m not upset with Amoeba. I guess I’ve just had my share of prof’s that played the game, “Guess what I’m thinking.” (Women & men) LOL 😉

    1. Church Lady — generally we read each other’s faces and can tell when we’ve said something the other thinks doesn’t make sense, but in this instance we weren’t looking at each other.

  8. Think of it this way Quilly, it gave you two days in a row to practise backing your car.

    Thanks for the nice compliment on the blog.

  9. Actually, what I said was “I’ll see you around 2”, not “pick me up around 2”. I had the bicycle in mind the whole time. But I could see how that got translated to “come get me”, which is for why the urgent reminder.

    Folk will, I hope, understand that I’m an absent-minded-professor type, and Quilly’s engaged at present in trying to write the Great American Harlequin Romance Novel, so she’s a bit distracted at present. She’s also a saint. We get by.
    .-= the amoeba´s last blog ..Dude and Dude: Cable Fail =-.

    1. One of the things I love most about you is your ability to focus so completely on whatever it is your engaged in, it is also one of the things that frustrates me from time to time. Another of the things I love about you is that you think I am much more wonderful than I really am. :*

    1. Kay — I can’t speak for everyone else but we back into the driveway because of the tall hedges around the house. Backing in saves backing out out blind.

  13. We’re doing a home fellowship group study with several couples that’s called “Buildling Your Mate’s Self-Esteem.” One of the things we considered the other night is how how our assumptions about the other person’s motivation really eat at our self-perception! Some of it is influenced by prior relationships — even the way our parents modeled behavior. We resolved that we would spend the next week assuming that our spouses’ motivation is to love and honor us, and look through that lens. It requires prayer, but what a different perspective!

    Glad you 2 are OK!
    .-= Southlakesmom´s last blog ..Five Words =-.

    1. SLM — I think my current perceptions are being influenced by reading too much romance. I may need to go back to my fantasy & science fiction. Amoeba and I have talked about our hangups from previous relationships and we actually know each other pretty well. That said, your advice is excellent — as in undergirding any relationship in prayer!

  14. Well done, Quilly — can you come here and teach my husband to park backwards? We’ve gotten all the way to town and I’m feeling fine, then I get carsick during his parking. Up back up back up back up back …. bleuuugh.

    But yes it figures…. the one day you could have saved yourself the trouble! LOL
    .-= Susan at Stony River´s last blog ..What are you doing on Wednesday? =-.

  15. Men ! that’s all I can say ! and I thought it would never rain in Hawai ! that’s only for Belgium, except this summer. strange !
    .-= Gattina´s last blog .. =-.

    1. Gattina — never rain? Where do you think all this hungle growth and green comes from? And else would we call it the Rainbow State?

  16. Oh boy, Life’s just great and men are the Best 😀

    Over here it was like:

    We go shopping, get new coffee cups. Hubby offers to make coffee after I put everything away.
    He did and comes with the small espresso cups.
    I’m like “Oh, a small coffee it is?”
    He looks at me all funny.
    I’m like “We got big cups”
    He “Uh, I forgot we have those”

    Sigh 😉
    .-= Nicole´s last blog ..Dollendorf 16 / 365 =-.

    1. My SIL took her husband to work one morning wearing NOTHING but her bathrobe and some curlers, then had a flat tire on the way home — and this was before the days of cell phones! She was mortified and stayed in the car. No way she was walking anywhere.

      Luckily, one of her husband’s co-workers recognized the car & stopped. On the other hand, maybe it was unlucky because after he arrived at work, he LOUDLY told everybody why he was late and how my SIL was dressed!

  23. You know, I love your little windows into your life and your relationship. Which, btw I think is beautiful and equal.
    I really didn’t get that Amoeba was somehow demanding which I think some commenters felt, unless I read that wrong. I just saw it as an ordinary everyday conversation with a few asides about feelings and wants, desires, needs and love. Love underlines all that you two do together, which is the best part for me.
    A lovely excerpt from your life! Thanks for sharing.
    .-= Thumbelina´s last blog ..The End. =-.

    1. Thumbelina — you’re right. Amoeba rarely demands anything. He is habitually polite and kind and considerate. He simply didn’t know that I had forgotten about his bicycle, and proceeded with the conversation as though we were on the same wavelength.

  25. You’re such a good story-teller. You take the simple day-to-day moments in life and make them amusing, touching and entertaining… all while keeping them totally real. That’s a talent. I didn’t think for a moment it was over.
    .-= Raven´s last blog ..Living Room Kitchen =-.

  26. I don’t back up well at all, even in a straight line with nothing on either side. My husband and one son can back a car in front of the driveway around one behind it (which they’d rather do than play musical cars), but I don’t dare try. They tease me that since I have a hard time backing up straight, I should be a breeze at backing in a curve. No thank you!

    Jim and I have those kinds of communications, too, sometimes. After almost 30 years together, we know what the other is thinking often, but there are those times — usually when one or both of us is distracted — when one of us thinks, “Huh?” He can sometimes say something out of the blue and forget he hasn’t been talking out loud and I have no idea how he got from what he last said to what he is saying now.
    .-= Barbara H.´s last blog ..Before the Throne of God Above =-.

    1. Barbara — once upon a time I was champion at “back up” and then something happened to shake my confidence and while I can still do it, I do not do it without great apprehension.

      And I am more apt than Amoeba to say something out of the blue and expect him to read my mind. He usually looks at me like he’s concerned for my sanity and asks me what I’m talking about.

  27. How did I miss this post? Must have been caught between the PPPs. Loved this story.

    The Daddy walks home from the train station. When it’s raining, which is not very often, I call him to ask him if he wants us to pick him up.

    1. Mumma — since you pretty much only comment on two of my posts a month, I don’t think your missing it can be blamed soley on the ads.

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