Rooting

1.18.18 | mpls miracle [love letter]

Dear M,

I wandered into the living room, drawn to the Disappointment™ displayed on the television: a Vikings score of 23 to 24 with only 10 seconds left on the clock. I instinctively launched into a diatribe about the idiocy of supporting a team that invariably breaks hearts; I felt like Barb from Stranger Things, advising Nancy to wake up and stop confusing a horny douchebag (Steve Harrington*) for a suitable love interest. Then the unthinkable happened–I turned out to be wrong ;)

I watched with bulging eyes and a slack jaw as Digg's received Keenum's Hail Mary pass and bolted towards the end zone. A scream escaped my lips when his purple-clad body crossed the white line in sync with the countdown timer–touchdown at 0:00 seconds! I rejoiced but resisted the urge to become hopeful–or tried to. My body failed to prevent inklings of optimism from permeating my bones. The motto of the faithless is "I'll believe it when I see it." Try reasoning with eyes which just beheld a miracle; [un]blind faith is immune to rationalizations! In this moment, I thought of you. I finally understand why.

To ears that have heard deception and eyes that have seen betrayal, a man like you seemed too good to be true. As I walked towards your car on that fateful September day, I braced myself to confront a mirage; I had glimpsed fool's gold in the driver's seat–a suspiciously handsome man who ran fingers through his flowing tresses in that careless way he probably approached worries (and women). By the time I reached the passenger's-side door, I was in full disbelief. There's no way that this boy–who clearly would have been too cool to talk to me in high school–wanted to date a neurotic social-outsider like me. Flash forward to our drive to the Plymouth theater–our bodies awash in the golden light of the setting sun, my hand nestled in yours. A smile tugged at my lips as optimism seeped into my guarded bones. Being an "idiot" had never felt so good; showing up for the "heartbreaker" had never felt so right. Blind faith is a beautiful dangerous thing...because it brought me to you.

te amo hasta la luna,

Lexy ☽

*Barb's initial perception of Steve, not mine.