Romance in the Real World

I am having a fantastic romantic Friday evening with my wonderful husband. We are just living our normal life - and it is romantic - if you are using the Wikipedia definition of a "romance" story that is "emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending."

What did we do? We put the kids to bed, started a couple of loads of laundry, sat next to each other while we checked our email on different computers, then I went to the grocery store. Now I'm sitting in bed in my completely un-sexy nightgown, eating Twizzlers and surfing the net while he does the dishes.

Why do you never read about this kind of thing in a romance novel? Why is it all coincidental-meeting-save-me-from-the-bad-guys-in-our-downtime-we'll-make-out stuff? Not that I have anything against making out per se, but I've never had any of those heart-stopping hero-saves-the-helpless-girl situations that seem to be necessary to any romance book or movie. And still, I feel my life is full of romance.

So why do you never read about the real world in a romance novel? Maybe it just isn't exciting enough. I can see it now. . . .

"Victoria swept her long lustrous locks over her shoulder as she swept out the door. She went to the minivan, slid into her seat, and started the car in one smooth motion. She licked her lips, not in a seductive, "kiss me" sort of way, more like a, "I should stop giving the baby my chap stick to play with - it probably fell down between the couch cushions" sort of way. She thought of Dimitri as she drove to Smiths; his dark hair, his broad shoulders. She hoped he remembered to do the dishes while she was gone, or at the very least put the leftover meatloaf in the fridge.

Dimitri was thinking of her too. He wasn't resenting the hour they had to be apart, or dreaming of her soft lips, he was wondering if she would think to put gas in the car on her way home. Probably not, she rarely did. As the sound of the motor died, he turned his sultry eyes back to his computer screen to read the newspaper, and maybe watch a couple of movie trailers.

Nobody's heart beat faster. His breath didn't catch in his throat. When she walked in the door an hour later, he helped her unload the groceries, pecked her on the cheek and she said "I love you." And everyone was happy. The end."

Yeah, it doesn't quite have the same excitement to it, but this is the kind of love that makes the world go around. This is the kind of love that lasts for a lifetime and beyond. The kind where the kids sleep peacefully at night and grow up to become responsible citizens. Adult love, where Grown Ups treat each other like Grown Ups and love and respect each other.

And later, when my husband comes up to bed. . . well, you might read about that in a romance novel, but you shouldn't, and you certainly won't read about it here. (Mind your own business)