Tomas emerged from his office slightly sullen, but smiled at the sight of his beautiful girlfriend and their dogs. “Good morning, beautiful.” He gave her a light smack on the tuchas.
Kari was reheating her tea and he was taking a break to freshen his coffee. “How’s the morning going?” she asked.
Tomas scoffed, “I suck.”
“Did you lose money?” she asked with genuine, but casual concern. She knew full well that her lover was his own worst enemy and he was probably overreacting to the events of the last fifteen minutes.
“No,” he replied with a snide tone. “I made small, but was right and should have made more.”
Kari approached him, took him by the hand, and led him out of the kitchen.
“Where are we going?” Tomas inquired as he took a sip of the hot coffee.
She didn’t respond. Instead, she walked him into the living room as the morning sun shone over the ocean and into their home. When they got to the couch, she turned and motioned for Tomas to sit in the center of the large, leather sofa.
The stubborn man that he was, he started to sit on the end where he normally did.
“No!” Kari squeezed his hand firmly. “Not there. Here, on the middle cushion.”
“What? Why?” Tomas contorted his face.
“Just do it, please.” She fluttered her lashes.
Tomas reluctantly did as instructed and shifted to the middle section. His lounge pants bottoms were still wet from their early morning walk on the beach and his T-shirt smelled of him and ocean air. “Is everything ok? Did I do something wrong?”
“No, not really. Everything is good. That’s why we need to have this conversation. I’ve decided that going forward, this is going to be our conversation spot.”
“Conversation spot? What does that mean?”
Kari placed her forefinger on his lips. “Shh. Yes, our ‘conversation spot’ when we need to talk about something. When I mention that we need to talk about something, you’ll automatically know that you should assume this position.” She straddled his lap.
“Ok, as long as I’m not in trouble.”
“You’re not in trouble. You just need to look and listen for a minute.” Kari shifted on his lap and began. “What did you do this morning?”
“I did what we always do: I got up, took the dogs out quickly, and made some coffee and tea for us. Then I fed the dogs, we went for a short walk with the dogs before we went for our nice long walk without them during the sunrise.” He took a sip of his coffee with a very proud look that he had remembered everything.
Kari tilted her head inquisitively. “Then?”
“Then we came back. I looked at Twitter and the market, picked some points, watched the open, made some trades and didn’t make as much money as I should have,” Tomas replied, confused and a bit frustrated.
“Ok, so you’re having a pretty decent day. Are you happy?” Kari asked.
“Yes, I would….”
“…have preferred to make more money?” she finished for him. “I understand that, but are you happy?”
“Yes.”
“Good. That’s it. You need to look at yourself and your situation. You have a roof over your head, we eat very well, you do something you like to do, and we don’t have a lot to worry about.”
“We could….”
“We could what? Have a bigger house, a nicer car, more money? We’re fine. We have each other, two dogs, and a routine that works for us. I know that you love me, and I certainly don’t mind spending time with you,” she snickered. “Be happy for what we have. This is what it’s all about — being with someone that you relate to, that understands and ‘gets’ you. We’re lucky!”
Tomas pulled her to him and buried his face in her ample bosom. “You’re right. I’m an idiot.”
“No. You just need to accept the fact that, we together have found each other, some serenity, peace, and a little bit of sanity in a world that’s a total mess.” She leaned back and smiled at him. “Be happy.”
“You’re right! Give us a kiss.”
