My sweetheart and I built our dream house bit by bit, roughly following the plans we'd paced out and marked on the lawn. We spent untold nights talking and scheming until the sky began to lighten. Then we'd fall asleep in each other's arms with stars in our eyes and sawdust in our hair. Every time we got some extra money, it went into the house. And I dug and planted and watered and nurtured until my back was breaking.
It still needs lots of work: painting, decorating, buying furniture. But all that will fall into place bit by bit, the way we built the house. This place is ginormous. My old place would fit in the dining room, I think!
There's nothing up there yet; just a couple of unfinished rooms.
Who knows? Some day we may need a nursery.
I still want to know what that unfinished corner is all about. Demarco said it was a surprise for me and to keep my nose out of it.
As it turned out, he had another surprise for me as well. One that glittered and shone. One that put the sweetest look on his face, part eager, part proud, part apprehensive; and made my heart swell until I thought it would burst.
He's been working as hard at work as he has at home, and he got another promotion. The coach wants him to take a trip to China to study under a legendary Chinese coach. He says that will give him a game-winning edge nobody else will have. He can also learn martial arts to further discipline his body and teach him to focus his energy. He'll be unstoppable.
"I think," he told me in that soft voice he only uses in bed, "I think it would be a beautiful place for a honeymoon."
