By Dana Diamond
I married Mr. Perfect.
Trust me, I hate me too. I mean, as I write this, he’s bringing me homemade hash browns and scrambled cheddar-eggs in bed. And he doesn’t even know I’m writing this! He did it Just Because!
But this is supposed to be about romance so I was wracking my brain trying to think of the most romantic thing he’s ever done for me. But he’s done so damn many romantic things, they all blend.
It’s not that I’m spoiled, well, maybe I am a little, but really, it’s how do you decide which is the most exquisite rose from a perfect bouquet? They’re all so magnificent, I couldn’t possibly choose.
And, I guess, when you get down to it, the most romantic thing he ever did for me wasn’t the gorgeous European rose arrangements he had delivered so often that the florist knew me by name. It wasn’t the way he surprised me by proposing with my grandmother’s wedding band in the jewelry box that snapped opened with a press of a button like I’d dreamed of being proposed to with since childhood. It’s not the way he holds my hair and gets me water when I’m sick. And it’s not the love notes he leaves on my pillow Just Because.
It was the way he wore me down.
See, he knew we were perfect for each other long before I did. It’s a long drawn-out story, but suffice it to say I was otherwise engaged when we met. And by the time we were both single, he’d become such a good friend, I never wanted to “go there†with him and ruin a great friendship. I know, total “duh!â€, but I was young and dumb. I’m human.
So one day, my brother says to me, “You’re gonna marry him.â€
And I’m like, “You’re on crack. I can’t marry him. He’s my buddy.â€
“I’m tellin’ you. He’s gonna wear you down.â€
My brother’s not exactly the kinda guy to pay too close attention to relationships and girly things, but he’d said it with such utter conviction that I couldn’t forget it. Frankly, it creeped me out.
But he was right. Actually, now I cringe at the hell I put my husband through, poor baby. He listened on the phone when I excitedly told him about my engagement to another, he went to a surprise party for me that another boyfriend threw, he waited, he dated, he baked cookies with my two year old niece and told me it was fun…while football was on!
So when I think of romance, it’s not Mr. Gorgeous who looked hot on my arm or Mr. Gorgeous-Body who looked hot in the sack, or Mr. Bad-Ass who when my mom’s best friend found out I was dating him, she gasped, or Mr. East-Coast-Prep who took me great places and chauffered me around in his Porsche or Mr. Card-Carrying-Member-of-Mensa who was cerebrally sexy.
Don’t get me wrong. They were fun and wonderful and they had their place. But it’s the guy who isn’t any one of those things, but is a little of all of them and more who gave me the romance I needed. It was sweet Mr. I-Will-Cherish-The-Hell-Out-Of-You-Until-My-Dying-Day that I wanted to come home to…my Mr. Perfect-For-Me.
That’s what I want for the little girls in my life. When they grow up, I hope they too will marry Mr. Perfect.
Dana Diamond
http://www.danadiamond.blogspot.com
http://www.thewritersvibe.typepad.com
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Dana,
I love this story, not only because it is well written and funny, but because your husband hung in there. You were friends first and when all else fails thats what gets you through.
MichelleT
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Dana — You forgot to mention that he cooks gourmet dinners for your critique group!
Weez 🙂
Mary,
Amen! 😉
And you know how wonderful I think you and your Mr. Perfect are. Your little dude is a pretty lucky guy to have you both too. 🙂
Sandy,
Yes he does enjoy it. 🙂 But you know, I really enjoyed doing this for him. It was so great to be able to tell him how much I love him this way. Whoever thought of this, Thanks.
Oops! I guess I should be a little more patient before I hit the send button the second time!
Sandy
It sounds like your Mr. Perfect waited a long time for the opportunity to spoil you. Enjoy it, I’m sure he is.
Sandy
It sounds like your Mr. Perfect waited a long time for the opportunity to spoil you. Enjoy it, I’m sure he is.
Sandy
Dear Mr. & Mrs. Perfect:
Your little girls are so lucky to have you as parents. That way they’ll grow up knowing what to look for when their Prince Charming arrives. And, they’ll know how to keep PC in line!
Mary
And to, my Mr. Perfect…I *know* you’re going to sneak on and read this.
Thanks for hanging in there. 🙂
I love you.
Happy Valentine’s Day.
🙂 d
Gillian, I thought the same of your story, “a real-life romance”. 🙂
And, you know…my mom and I were just talking about that. Yes, I did date them and, for the record, they *were* “fun”. 🙂 But since I just started writing a few years ago it was a recent discovery that I basically dated every hero archetype around.
I gotta say, I loved Tami Cowden’s book Heroes & Heroines. It explained so much! 🙂 Funny how life works out.
And since they all really were such wonderful guys, just not for me, it pains me to think of them as “material”…but it doesn’t stop me! 😉
Michele, it *was* weird how he knew. It was like an idiot savant moment or something. 😉 (Um…bro, if you read this, I’m *totally* kidding! Heee!)
Weird how your brother knew! But, I guess brothers have to be right every once and a while. LOL
I hope the little girls in all of our lives find a Mr. Perfect, too.
Michele
I love the fact that your courtship was a real-life romance novel! Now tell me–when you wrote “they were fun”, did you really date all those luscious hero-types before Mr. Perfect won your heart? If so, you’ve got an impressive stockpile of hands-on research to write a ton of romance novels! Lucky you — in soooo many ways! :-)))