She left the bathroom with nothing but a white linen towel and tiptoed all the way to the room. Her hands were skillfully arranging her hair in a knot. During the entire walk her eyes never left the ground, except for one final moment when she locked eyes with him, looking for some sign of excitement. She found nothing but thrill in his smiling mouth, in his smiling eyes, in his smiling heart. His excitement made it worthwhile. So she smiled back at him before turning her back and dropping the linen white towel that covered her otherwise naked wet body. Moving slowly, she bended over the bed and distanced her ankles invitingly. She never said a word. Man, she was strong.
He made his way towards her with heavy footsteps and quick pace. To the victor go the spoils. This was his award. It was the sweeter moment any victory has to offer: the feeling that one is truly standing at the top. So when he took her by the hips he never even questioned her resolve, and he feasted on each of her screams. He never said a word. Man, he felt strong.
For a long time in that dimly lighted room there were no wedding rings, no sacred vows, no common acquaintance or shared hobby to unite them. There were only two separate entities at war. They were the ultimate renegades of love. They were animals unaware of any kindness. And they made damn sure they took advantage of it.
At that moment it didn’t really matter how they got there. In fact, it would never matter again. The process was complete. The jury had made their call. He had won.
And the funny thing is that it was her idea. Many years ago, back when they were still in high school, she had bet him five dollars that she could beat him in a ten minute run around a race track. He was a fat slob, so that was a way for her to get him moving. What she didn’t know was that although his belly slowed him, he had strong legs and good lungs. He beat her three laps ahead.
As they got older, their betting turned into a habit. It wasn’t exactly competitive yet. It was a way to motivate themselves. Her high school graduation granted her a pink watch she had been demanding for so long as a gift. His first-choice allocation in college granted him dark blue snickers that could only be found in some remote European stores and had to be ordered online in a website written in foreign language.
Then, their habit became an excuse for the things they both wanted but could not admit. That’s when losing ten pounds granted him her virginity.
They had been together for many years when their first jobs came. They worked on separate departments of the same law firm. By then, they were already betting on everything. When they moved in together they made bets on stupid made up games just to see who would wash the dishes. One night she was faster than him typing some unpronounceable words, and so he had to vacuum. One weekend he beat her at arm wrestling, and so she had to clean the windows. They grew so accustomed to it that they could not do without those tiny ritual pieces of everyday life. They were just that, an innocent custom that amused them both. They were an innovative form of home-made entertainment.
Then there was marriage. And everything changed. Life called them out for money, fame, family arrangements. “When are you going to have children?”, some asked her. “Are you gonna quit your job or will he?”, others wanted to know. “Does she make more money than you?”, some would say to him. “She’s working overtime again?”, his parents would find strange. In becoming a unit, bounded by law, they had become public dominion. The rings and the vows were attached to acquaintances and family. They married each other and also the expectation of what marriage should be like. There was now an image they had to live up to. After marriage, their fun and games became serious game in a hunt for superiority. To win became survival. They were either on top of their game or their relationship would fall apart.
Few months had passed from the ceremony when a friend of theirs from college, who had grown into a professor, came one night to their home for dinner. He told them about a professor’s position that had just opened in the local university. The position would mean a worse schedule than they had at their firm, but more money, more prestige. So in the middle of the night she woke him up and said “Listen, I’m going to apply. And you can bet your ass I’m going to get the job. In fact, I could bet mine.” Their eyes locked. They both smiled.
Every break she had, and at night after dinner, she would work on her application. There was a motivation letter that had to be very clearly devised. Then there was the CV, which had to be impeccably impressive. She had to show that she knew how to teach. And then there was a test to ascertain her level of expertise. It was a hard test. Between work and her application, she was spending between twelve and sixteen hours per day in front of the computer.
Throughout the process, he was a very caring husband. There were no more games, no bets, no weird stuff during the time she was preparing her application. He did everything around the house. He would prepare her snacks and surprise her with massages while she was re-writing her motivation letter for the hundredth time. And from a certain night on, he began helping her with the test. No one would say that he did not want her to get the job.
In fact, neither did him. He felt he did want her to get the position. That’s when his friend, the professor, found out she was applying. His friend told him “I thought you were the one who would apply. Not your wife. I mean, it’s a much better position than the one you have at your firm. Have you two discussed the fact that she’ll be making more money than you? Have you talked about her schedule? You know she’ll have to teach many classes. And what will you do when you have kids? Will you give up your job? You know she won’t.”
That got him thinking. He wasn’t old fashioned. And he liked how strong and independent his wife was. I mean, he would hate her if she was weak and needy. He loved that he had never seen her cry. He liked the way she talked sports with him, and drank bear with him, and never left an argument without a fight. She was a constant challenge. He liked that she was very good at work, and he did felt her accomplishments as his own. He loved her for how good she was. But he loved being better than her even more.
Could he do it? Could he run for the professor’s job as well? He had no passion for it, but now he knew the application process inside out. He could prepare an application in one or two days, tops. He knew what to say in the motivation letter, he had a better resume than her, and now he knew the answers to the test. He could beat her.
So one very late evening in bed he turned to her and explained that he thought he should run too. After all, they were a family. The important thing was that one of them got the job. They would both benefit. And two people running is better than one, right? If both of them would run, then their shots would increase. When he put it like that, it was hard for her not to agree.
The funny thing is that he did complete his application before the deadline. The funniest thing is that he did win.
They were enjoying a quiet evening at home. They were about to go to bed when she decided to check her e-mail and got the news. Strong as she was, any trace of sadness had already cleared while she tiptoed in his direction to kiss him with genuine passion, with genuine joy for his accomplishment. “Congratulations, you won.”
No more words were exchanged. He stayed in the room while she ran to the bathroom. He felt like he could still do it. No matter how good she was, he was better. He felt like he had it all. He had a perfect wife who is less perfect than him. What more can a man want?
So she left the bathroom with nothing but a white linen towel and tiptoed all the way to the room. He smiled. At that moment, he truly loved her more than ever.
He made his way towards her with heavy footsteps and quick pace. To the victor go the spoils. This was his award. It was the sweeter moment any victory has to offer: the feeling that one is truly standing at the top. So when he took her by the hips he never even questioned her resolve, and he feasted on each of her screams. He never said a word. Man, he felt strong.
For a long time in that dimly lighted room there were no wedding rings, no sacred vows, no common acquaintance or shared hobby to unite them. There were only two separate entities at war. They were the ultimate renegades of love. They were animals unaware of any kindness. And they made damn sure they took advantage of it.
At that moment it didn’t really matter how they got there. In fact, it would never matter again. The process was complete. The jury had made their call. He had won.
And the funny thing is that it was her idea. Many years ago, back when they were still in high school, she had bet him five dollars that she could beat him in a ten minute run around a race track. He was a fat slob, so that was a way for her to get him moving. What she didn’t know was that although his belly slowed him, he had strong legs and good lungs. He beat her three laps ahead.
As they got older, their betting turned into a habit. It wasn’t exactly competitive yet. It was a way to motivate themselves. Her high school graduation granted her a pink watch she had been demanding for so long as a gift. His first-choice allocation in college granted him dark blue snickers that could only be found in some remote European stores and had to be ordered online in a website written in foreign language.
Then, their habit became an excuse for the things they both wanted but could not admit. That’s when losing ten pounds granted him her virginity.
They had been together for many years when their first jobs came. They worked on separate departments of the same law firm. By then, they were already betting on everything. When they moved in together they made bets on stupid made up games just to see who would wash the dishes. One night she was faster than him typing some unpronounceable words, and so he had to vacuum. One weekend he beat her at arm wrestling, and so she had to clean the windows. They grew so accustomed to it that they could not do without those tiny ritual pieces of everyday life. They were just that, an innocent custom that amused them both. They were an innovative form of home-made entertainment.
Then there was marriage. And everything changed. Life called them out for money, fame, family arrangements. “When are you going to have children?”, some asked her. “Are you gonna quit your job or will he?”, others wanted to know. “Does she make more money than you?”, some would say to him. “She’s working overtime again?”, his parents would find strange. In becoming a unit, bounded by law, they had become public dominion. The rings and the vows were attached to acquaintances and family. They married each other and also the expectation of what marriage should be like. There was now an image they had to live up to. After marriage, their fun and games became serious game in a hunt for superiority. To win became survival. They were either on top of their game or their relationship would fall apart.
Few months had passed from the ceremony when a friend of theirs from college, who had grown into a professor, came one night to their home for dinner. He told them about a professor’s position that had just opened in the local university. The position would mean a worse schedule than they had at their firm, but more money, more prestige. So in the middle of the night she woke him up and said “Listen, I’m going to apply. And you can bet your ass I’m going to get the job. In fact, I could bet mine.” Their eyes locked. They both smiled.
Every break she had, and at night after dinner, she would work on her application. There was a motivation letter that had to be very clearly devised. Then there was the CV, which had to be impeccably impressive. She had to show that she knew how to teach. And then there was a test to ascertain her level of expertise. It was a hard test. Between work and her application, she was spending between twelve and sixteen hours per day in front of the computer.
Throughout the process, he was a very caring husband. There were no more games, no bets, no weird stuff during the time she was preparing her application. He did everything around the house. He would prepare her snacks and surprise her with massages while she was re-writing her motivation letter for the hundredth time. And from a certain night on, he began helping her with the test. No one would say that he did not want her to get the job.
In fact, neither did him. He felt he did want her to get the position. That’s when his friend, the professor, found out she was applying. His friend told him “I thought you were the one who would apply. Not your wife. I mean, it’s a much better position than the one you have at your firm. Have you two discussed the fact that she’ll be making more money than you? Have you talked about her schedule? You know she’ll have to teach many classes. And what will you do when you have kids? Will you give up your job? You know she won’t.”
That got him thinking. He wasn’t old fashioned. And he liked how strong and independent his wife was. I mean, he would hate her if she was weak and needy. He loved that he had never seen her cry. He liked the way she talked sports with him, and drank bear with him, and never left an argument without a fight. She was a constant challenge. He liked that she was very good at work, and he did felt her accomplishments as his own. He loved her for how good she was. But he loved being better than her even more.
Could he do it? Could he run for the professor’s job as well? He had no passion for it, but now he knew the application process inside out. He could prepare an application in one or two days, tops. He knew what to say in the motivation letter, he had a better resume than her, and now he knew the answers to the test. He could beat her.
So one very late evening in bed he turned to her and explained that he thought he should run too. After all, they were a family. The important thing was that one of them got the job. They would both benefit. And two people running is better than one, right? If both of them would run, then their shots would increase. When he put it like that, it was hard for her not to agree.
The funny thing is that he did complete his application before the deadline. The funniest thing is that he did win.
They were enjoying a quiet evening at home. They were about to go to bed when she decided to check her e-mail and got the news. Strong as she was, any trace of sadness had already cleared while she tiptoed in his direction to kiss him with genuine passion, with genuine joy for his accomplishment. “Congratulations, you won.”
No more words were exchanged. He stayed in the room while she ran to the bathroom. He felt like he could still do it. No matter how good she was, he was better. He felt like he had it all. He had a perfect wife who is less perfect than him. What more can a man want?
So she left the bathroom with nothing but a white linen towel and tiptoed all the way to the room. He smiled. At that moment, he truly loved her more than ever.
Sem comentários:
Enviar um comentário