February is literally a day away, so I thought that it would be fun to post a little about love in the coming days. I don't necessarily mean that blanket definition of love between sweethearts, but the different forms of love attached to that multi-faceted, yet oh so tiny word. Other cultures around the world have different words for different types of love, but in English, love just means love. We attach our own meanings to it. You'll see what I mean.
We've all seen it in the movies or read it in books. Boy meets girl, they fall in love, you think their future is made, something happens to drive them apart, they see each other after years apart, and that look of love is still shining in their eyes. End scene. That's the end of the story as far as we're meant to see and we're left with a hopeful feeling in our chests that finally, the world has conspired enough for them to finally be together and live happily ever after.
But what about those stories that we are witness to in real life? Those whose stories aren't resolved or over with a long roll of credits to follow like a CVS receipt. What would it be like to live a truly great love story that doesn't have a happy ending before one of the key players is taken out of the game permanently? Does that incomplete love turn into guilt for the rest of the other partner's life? Regret for what might have been. Regret for never joining two lives into one. Regret for not being able to be there for all the little things. Regret for not being there for all the big things. Regret for every missed uncovered smile. Regret for every missed bout of unabashed laughter. Regret for the moments of shared wild abandon. Regret for every missed slow dance in each other’s arms. Regret for being out of town when the other person experienced a tremendous loss and not being able to be there for them. Regret at not being able to share something with them that you know they would love to experience and having to settle for only being able to tell them one day...if you remember.
I’ve seen this kind of love play out before me, and it has yet to have it’s happy ending. For years, I’ve watched two people very obviously in love come together time after time and seen that glimmer in their eyes that they have for no one else. It started like every other love story, but circumstances got in the way, even after years of obvious compatibility and acceptance of each other. Their ways of life were too different at the time and neither one was willing to give it up to move forward with a shared life in one location together, so they parted. They both remarried other people, and although I know they gave their new partners as much love as they could, those relationships eventually ended too, and they met once again. When they weren’t dancing together at family functions, they would often be spotted in a remote corner of the room conversing with each other. I never tried to encroach on their private conversations, so I can’t say for certain what it was they were talking about, but I like to hope that they were talking about how much they missed each other, and what fascinating things they had to share with one another. I always wondered if one of them would bring up the idea of becoming a couple again and giving their relationship together another try. Though one still lives the same lifestyle as when they first got together, the other has changed, and her once busy and hectic lifestyle is now one that is not as taxing and more relaxing. Would it work now? That’s not my place to say. But, if they decided to try again, I would be clapping the loudest at their wedding.
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