A Love Affair, From A to Z: “M” – Mapping Her Heart

Mapping her heart
Is his skill, because he knows her through
Or so he claims.
Sometimes, he says he gets the depth of her love,
But she is reminded he can’t possibly know
How deep this well runs within her;
It’s been brewing, brimming,
Swirling up from its confinement
Far longer in her than he’s admitted the same to himself.
But she sees it in the simple things he does for her—
The way he cooks her dinner, brings her little gifts, helps her around her house
Or calls her for the tenth time on the same day,
Just to say hello.
It’s as if he doesn’t realize how much it means to her, to them
As if he doesn’t see how closely they’ve entwined themselves together
Despite the obviousness of it pumping their hearts full of rich, sweet joy.
One night, as he cooks, she says to him
“What do you think it would be like if we were normal?”
He stirs again; peeks at her
“What do you mean?”
“I mean if it were always. Every night. Not a day off, or a getaway.”
He ponders a moment, stirs,
Looks at her like he gets it and says,
“I think it would be the same. Don’t you?”
She thinks so
But she doesn't think he grasped what she truly meant—
And tonight she isn’t ready to explain it.