“She’s Perfect”

Just another “love story” before St. Valentine’s Day. Enjoy!

He drives me crazy, but I love him. He can be controlling, but we both know who holds the power in this relationship. He wouldn’t be anywhere without me. Sometimes I want to leave him, but I just can’t. We’ve been together for years and I can’t see myself with anyone else. When we first met, it was love at first sight.

“She’s perfect,” he would tell his friends.

He was proud to be seen with me. Now, though, our relationship seems casual–even businesslike. I guess we just got used to each other. He takes me for granted, and I’m tired.

We decide to go on vacation, so I hope we can use the trip as a way to reconnect. He always insists on driving, but he’s terrible with directions, so I handle the navigation.

“There’s a speed trap up ahead,” I inform Drew, knowing he isn’t paying attention.

He immediately slows down.

“Thank you,” he says. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

I do. He’d be in jail or at the bottom of a ravine, most likely. It isn’t long before his lead foot puts us over the speed limit once again. Typical. We’re going out of range for the radio station that was playing, so he changes the channel.

“There’s a chance of rain,” I say.

“Hmm,” he responds and looks toward the sky as if he doesn’t believe me.

It’s pathetic that our only conversation has been reduced to talk about the weather. He turns the channel again and then starts singing when he hears a song he recognizes. He never remembers the right words–or the right tune, for that matter–but I guess anything is better than the silence. After a few more miles, he looks down at the fuel gauge.

“Guess I should stop for gas,” he says.

We pull into the next station and he fills the tank while I get something to drink. I wish there were a way to refuel his passion, but it’s not as easy as simply pumping a lever on a nozzle. We get back on the road again and the only conversation is one-sided–me giving directions as we get closer to the hotel that he booked.

“You have arrived at your destination,” I tell him as he pulls up to the hotel.

He finds a spot in the parking garage, turns off my engine and then shuts and locks my doors. I stay in the garage while he heads into the hotel. It’s not the relationship I would hope for, but I’d rather go a hundred thousand more miles with him than lose him.

Copyright © 2020 Brandon Ellrich

If you enjoyed this short story, you may also like Bitter-Sweet Love.