Love For Granted

They were married for eight years and had dated for two years before. Eric didn't know if Janet felt the same but he realized recently that their relationship had dissolved into routine.

The realization hit him a few days ago. It was a Thursday morning. He was driving to work and he caught himself daydreaming about Karen, the new temp who was helping to move data into the new HR database. Much of the process had been automated but due to a glitch in the transfer, parts of the records for all four hundred or so employees of the Branch Foundation had to be keyed in by hand.

It wasn't the first time he had thought about a woman at work. It was always innocent enough, the thoughts never went beyond imaginary conversations, they were never of an intimate nature. Perhaps that difficult for some to believe but despite the stereotype, there are some in the male gender whose libido is more subdued. Eric was one with this trait and in addition, he took the vows of marriage as binding and un-negotiable. While he felt it wise to never say "one would never," he believed that he would never go so far as to cheat on his wife.

Now it must be stated here that Eric was not one who had ever been good at meeting women, even back before he was married. He was not a particularly good looking man though he made a point to dress well enough so that his wardrobe, while not compensating through excessive flair, made it clear to the world that he cared about appearances. He communicated well enough with members of both genders but if he happened to find a certain woman especially attractive, he found himself stammering, at a loss for words, graceless and clumsy.

He was all too well aware of these traits. In his single years before he met Janet, it was these very characteristics that frustrated him to no end for they made it nearly impossible for him to ask women out on dates. In fact, it was Janet who, he found out years into the relationship, went out of her way to make herself available to him, for him to ask her out and even with all this help, it was a mutual friend who finally arranged for them to meet for dinner.

Once past the first few dates, he found conversation easy enough. It was clear to them both that they shared something unique, a kind of ease with one another that made the sometimes awkward transition from casual acquaintance to lovers a seamless and effortless one.