By Emeka Chiaghanam
The sun was low over the lake, the way it gets when the air is clear and the wind has died. That’s how love should be, simple, steady, no need to shout about it. You don’t keep a fire burning by throwing a whole log on at once. You feed it slow, with good wood, and tend to it.
Here’s how to tend to it.
1. Write It Down. On Paper.
Forget the phone. A text
disappears. A letter stays. Slip one into his coat pocket before he leaves.
Leave one on her pillow, folded once, the crease sharp.
It works because it’s solid.
Something to hold.
2.
Cook Together. No Shirts. No Rush.
Pick something simple, pasta,
maybe, or steak if you’re feeling bold. Open a bottle of red. Let your hands
brush when you pass the knife.
Blindfold her. Feed her a
strawberry. Let her guess what it is. She’ll laugh. You’ll want to kiss her. Do
it.
3. Drive Nowhere.
Gas up the truck. Roll the
windows down. Don’t pick a direction. Just go. Stop at the diner with the
flickering sign. Order pie.
You’ll remember this longer
than any planned vacation.
4. Lock the Phone in the
Drawer.
Just once. Sit across from each
other. Look at her face, really look. Ask her something you don’t know. Listen
to the answer.
There’s a list of questions, 36
of them that make people fall in love. Google it later.
5. Dance in the Dark.
Put on that song, the one from
the bar that time, when you knew. Don’t turn on the lights. Hold her like you
mean it.
Science says touch makes you
feel closer. Science is right.
6. Go Back to the Start.
Wear the same shirt if you
still have it. Sit at the same table. Order the same drink. Watch her mouth
when she smiles.
You’ll remember why you’re
here.
7. Hide Notes Where She’ll Find
Them.
In her boot. Under the coffee
bag. On the bathroom mirror in the steam.
"I still think about the
way you taste."
8. Get in the Water Together.
Fill the tub. Light a candle, just
one. Play something with a slow bass line. Wash her back. Don’t speak.
9. Pack a Bag for Her. Don’t
Say Where.
A cabin. A beach. A cheap motel
with a decent bed. Tell her at the last minute. Watch her eyes.
Surprises matter.
10. Lie on Your Back and Look
Up.
The stars are the same ones
that were there when you were kids. Point out the ones you know. Make up names
for the ones you don’t.
11. Make a Tape. Yes, a Tape.
Songs from the first six
months. The one that was playing when you kissed her in the rain. The one she
hums in the shower.
Send it to her at work.
Write "Play me at 5:01."
12. Try One New Thing. Just
One.
A blindfold. A whisper in the
dark. A hand where it hasn’t been before.
Talk about it first. Then don’t
talk.
13. Help Someone Who Can’t Pay
You Back.
Serve food. Walk dogs. Fix
something broken. Do it together.
You’ll remember why you picked
her.
14. Build a Fort. Act Like
Kids.
Use every blanket. String up
the Christmas lights. Put on that stupid movie she loves. Let her steal the
popcorn from your hand.
15. Say It Different.
"You’re the best thing I’ve
got."
"I like the way you think."
"If I had to do it over, I’d pick
you faster."
Love isn’t a word. It’s what you do with it.
Final Thought:
Pick one. Do it this week. Then do another.
That’s how it works.
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