An Exchange From A Husband to His Wife's Past Self

Wed, 08/21/2013 - 09:45 -- josholm

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You don't know me yet, but I know you,
And I understand how you feel. We want the same thing. 
You feel like you can't find the right one,
When in retrospect, the right one is me. 
I know this because you're the right one for me.
So don't worry about your boyfriend.
He may have feelings for you now, and say that he loves you,
But 'love' shouldn't be a four-letter-word thrown around
The room. He should mean it, and you know he doesn't. 
He won't mean it like I will. I promise that I'll mean it. 
Because to say that you love someone doesn't mean 
That you love being with them. It means that you love
Them because they aren't perfect, and have a few scratches
On their body, and don't have the perfect eyes or the perfect
Shape, or don't feel the need to wear a dress to feel pretty.
You love them because they know how to control you
When you're at your worst. They know how to make you
Listen to them, how to make you laugh and smile and even cry
When you let everything out. They're that shoulder to cry on, 
The arms to be wrapped in, the kisses to feel when you need them,
And the hand to hold when you feel like you're walking home alone.
One day, you'll meet me. It'll be a Tuesday, a calm afternoon in October.

You'll enter a clothes store, buy a red dress for a dinner party. 
The cashier will wish you a good afternoon when you leave,
And you'll exit the store feeling fresh. That's when you'll run into me,
And you'll drop your things. I help you recollect yourself.
I'm not your first choice, but you find the nerve to spark a
Conversation with me anyway. We'll talk for a few minutes. Exchange names. 
Then you'll glance at your watch, and you'll tell me that you 
Have an hour or so, and you'll ask me if I want to grab something to
Eat because the dinner party later tonight will not be exciting at all.
So I agree to it, and we sit in a cafe, and through bits of sandwiches
And lattes, you'll glance at me for a minute, then you'll look out the 
Window, wondering if I noticed it. I did notice it. That's when I knew
That I felt something for you. You then do the craziest thing. You write 
Down your number on a piece of napkin and hand it to me. I go
Home wondering if we'd meet Again. Days will pass, and soon days
Will turn into weeks. Then, on an afternoon in November, my phone 
Will ring. Your name will appear on the screen. My heart will leap. 
And your voice will come through the receiver, and you'll talk about 
Our lunch, and how the dinner party was horrible, and then
I'll take the initiative. I'll ask you out. And surprisingly, you'll say yes. 
So don't look at your current love life as one of pain and ignorance.
You'll meet me sometime in the future. Now, I don't want you thinking
That I'm the one who'll swoop in and change your life. I'll make you
Happy, of course, but I'm not the one you've been dying to meet.
You're the one that i've been dying to meet. You made me realize
That all this world needs is love, just one step at a time.
You're better than what you feel, and you'll realize it. You don't need 
A boyfriend to tell you that. You don't even need me to tell you that.
You'll see for yourself. Just you wait. You are going to be okay. 
Trust me.

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