Jack of All Trades, Master of None

Her lips part to utter the infamous words that any lover either dreads or longs to hear– “I love you.” Fortunately for Isabel, her lover was sleeping and her words were but a small whisper. She practices her feelings for him in little ways such as this. Lying in bed, fully nude underneath the billowy comforter, she stares at the back of his head. His black hair is unruly and the comforter they share falls down his back, revealing the fine, soft skin of his neck and shoulders. Isabel always has to resist touching his flesh, feeling his warmth, as doing such things would reveal too much about her feelings– these feelings she wants to hide.

It is daylight, yet the room is dark. Jared prefers the dark– he claims the light makes him even sleepier since he can not widen his eyes enough to let the light in. Isabel has gotten used to the darkness, despite her desire to feel natural light pour in and bathe the house in warmth. She settles for the cold blackness of night for him.

Jared stirs lightly, then rolls over to face Isabel. He opens his big blue eyes and smiles.

“Good morning, sunshine,” he says to her. She responds with a smile so wide her eyes squint. He runs the back of his hand along her cheek then sits up. The blanket falls from his torso completely, showing off his slender frame and hairless body. Jared slides his lean legs over Isabel and hops off the bed.

“I’ll be right back,” he says with a quick peck to her forehead. She nods and smiles, slinking back under the covers like a small child playing peek-a-boo.

Under the blackness of the covers, Isabel’s mind wanders. When not in Jared’s company, she finds herself constantly comparing her relationship with him to the one he once had with a mysterious woman of ten very long years. The relationship connection has not been established, as Jared makes it quite obvious that his dealings with this woman are dead and gone. As her concerns flow from idea to idea, she wonders about whether her love for him is in vain– an endless swell of sacrifices for a love that may not last. All of these anxieties collect like rushing waters underneath her blanket of doubt, infecting the glow of bliss she experienced not but five minutes ago.