Wine for Two

 

I had just completed a ten page proposal to a multi-million dollar corporation,
attached it to an email and clicked"send". It was almost 3:00am,
I was tired and she had long since gone up to bed and was by now lightly snoring; deviated septum.

I peeked in on the girls who had earlier that day driven their mother crazy at the mall.
Seems they decided to play "ditch" on her and had her frantically searching every store,
nook and cranny of the mall for them while they followed her trhoughout giggling and laughing just out of earshot.
She finally went to security who were just about to put out a "Lost Child"
report over the intercom when the girls walked up with their
"Hi mom where did you go, we were looking all over for you" attitudes.
They were in their room when I got home from work,
their mother chopping salantro in the kitchen,
the look on her face said not to get to near with that knife in her hand.

I heard all about the girl's escapades at dinner,
admonished them and banned them to their room for the rest of the evening with no phone, video games or computer.
They weren't too happy about no computer because in this day and age it is the way youth tend to prefer to communicate with one another.
In my day it was the telephone.
Their mother, after tidying the kitchen and starting the dishwasher,retired to our room for the night with a book and a bottle of wine.
After watching the nightly news I retired to finish up the proposal a wine glass with me.

She was in the tub when I got there,
wine bottle on the floor, she in the tub soaking, glass in hand.
She acutally looked pretty comfy, and I commented that I wish I could join her.
She motioned to a spot next to her...ahhh but I had to decline.
That proposal needed to get there before they arrived at work next morning...
so she shrugged and handed me the bottle.

While she was reading and I was working we chatted about the day.
I told her about the proposed merger which would up my salary...and tax bracket,
she said she felt bad for coming down on the girls so hard but in this day and age...
a little while later she drifted off to sleep and now lied there softly snoring.

So I turned the computer monitor off,
walked to her side of the bed and planted a soft kiss on ther forehead
before banging my shin on the footboard yet again on my way to my side of the bed and cursing silently.
I crawled into bed and turned out the light.

TEMPEST

(Translated from the Spanish)

Heaven heaves a mighty sigh;

The great oaks bow and quake;

The ground billows into clouds

With the smell of hot and dry.

Birds are forced into silence;

The impetuous clouds furiously lash on

Devouring everything in sight

And building a blinding wall.

The sands before them flee;

Mouths and nostrils are choked.

The cry is out to beware--

The ground in anger rises!

--Duststorm�?/P>

****************

1974