"Lonesome Town"

My wife and I have been married for over thirty years. During that time we have rarely been apart overnight. There have been some business trips here and there but nothing of a long duration. Well I do remember one time when I was in the Air Force that I was away from home for three weeks. That separation almost killed us. The truth is we don't like being separated, at least I know I don't.

Currently my wife is in Florida, without me. She has gone to visit her parents and my schedule was such that I couldn't go with her. She left on Sunday morning and she will be back on Wednesday. As I write this it is Tuesday - and I am miserable. The house just does not seem the same with her gone. It is too quiet, too empty, too spooky.

It is in instances like this I wish we had a pet. When we had a cat it kept me company, good company, on those few occasions when Terry had to be away overnight. A cat is the perfect pet because it goes its own way and does its own thing, but checks in from time to time. But now we don't have a pet and you can hear a pin drop in this house.

Now my wife is a little over five feet tall and doesn't weigh much at all, still I feel safer when she is in the house with me. Last night I heard creaks and groans from every room in this house. I could have sworn I heard someone coming up the stairs. When it got quiet again I came downstairs and rechecked the alarm system. Then I went back upstairs, closing and locking the door at the top of the stairs as well as the door(s) to our bedroom. 

Sunday afternoon I made my first run to the grocery store to stock up on all the comfort foods I could find. I brought home tomato juice, cheese tidbits, fudge ripple cookies, potato chips and dip, and diet cokes. I plopped down in front of my TV and watched every show I had Tivoed this season but had not been able to watch. That included three hours of "Six Degrees" and three hours of "Brothers and Sisters." Monday night I watched four hours of "Nip/Tuck."

I have tried to get caught up on my reading but I just can't concentrate. I find myself reading the same page over and over. Writing is even worse. I start a paragraph and when I read it, it doesn't even make any sense. I have started a new book so I need to get my mind in gear.

The truth is, to quote a song, "I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face." She truly does make my day begin. I know there are people who like separations in their marriage, and there are other couples who have to endure long periods of time apart because of their jobs. I just don't know how they do it. I like being married. I like being a couple. And when we are apart I am a miserable person.

Tomorrow morning she will leave St Petersburg and head for home. We will talk constantly while she is on the road (thank God for cell phones), and I will be with her every mile of the way. When she gets back I will put away the "fatty" foods. I will begin to read and write again. Life will return to normal and I will be a happy man.

But between now and then I am living in Lonesome Town, and I don't like it - not one bit.

 

 

 

 

 

©2006 Jackie K. Cooper

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