Gale has a blanket draped over her shoulders and a warm mug of coffee clasped tightly in her hands. She stands in the doorway, watching rain shower down. A moody hiss emerges from this weather. I admire her silhouette for a long while and then get up. My arms snake around her waist to pull her in for a close hug. What I have learned is that Gale actually owns her own home deep in the woods. Alone. She stays mostly at her family's house when she dislikes this solitude. After a year of dating, she has invited me to stay with her over the weekend. It was a nice little cabin with a deck. Triangular shaped, with a sizable window from her bedroom. Her bedroom, was just a mattress on the floor insulated with many comforters and pillows. Shelves line the walls, decorated with books and candles.
"Why is it so cold?" I mewl, nuzzling into Gale's neck. I take in her scent, a mixture of lavender and sage.
"Because it's winter, my dear," she responds. She looked at me and touched her nose to mine. She did this often, a gesture similar to that of a cat.
I smile thoughtfully to myself. My eyes trail outside. A lone doe trots from the bushes. She swivels her head and watched us. Finally she dismisses us as no threat and mulls over to the blackberries that reach from the ground in gnarled bushels. She nibbles at the ground in search for any berries that survived through autumn. Finding nothing, she bounds back into the woods.
"Aren't they so elegant? They move as if they have walked for millions of years. And their eyes, full of such wisdom." Gale sighs dreamily.
"Sounds like a description of you."
I nestle my face into her neck again, earning euphoric giggles from Gale. She reaches over and combs my hair from my face. She kisses my forehead and then my jawline, trailing down my neck. She grabs the corners of the blanket and outstretches her arms. I lean in and hug her. We stand and rock each other for a long time, listening to the rain. Gale hums You Are My Sunshine quietly with I singing any part of the lyrics I could remember. She pulls away to look at me.
"Are you hungry?" She asks softly. Her eyes express a tenderness that I have seen many times.
"I can wait."
