Wonder Whales of the Ohio

Passing Down the Magic

Strange how life and love work. It seems like some mysterious force is driving it all in cycles, you don't even get a real view of it until you're looking back. When my wife found me, I was pretty well done with the notion of love, family, having a house or home. Life has a way of wearing you down and breaking you if you allow it. Even a hard headed guy like me who never learned to quit was trying to figure out how to throw in the towel. 

Along came that strange cosmic force saying, "Oh no, not you, you're not done yet." There I found myself staring down a grocery aisle at this beautiful young woman. I remember my inner voice laughing at me and telling me, "Not a chance in hell. She's way out of your league." Our paths continued to cross. It seemed the more time she spent around me the more she wanted to know about me. I wasn't exactly sure what the allure was. I was ten years older, fed up with most everything, and I'm definitely still nothing special to look at. Then I caught her watching me with that light in her eyes.

 I admit I'm not much for picking up on subtle hints or even mild flirtations, But I know that glint when I see it. That's the exact kind of I'm about to drag you home and make them wonder where I found such a stray look. I thought I'd be straight forward and respectable. I told her outright I wasn't looking for anything and I had no business being involved with anyone. Her counter was swift and precise, "You eat don't you? Why don't we get us something to eat, ride around for a bit and not worry about any of this? I'll even buy." What empty stomach is going to say no to free food? We played the cat and mouse game for a few weeks. I was loosing ground fast, already hanging at her place watching TV, already spending most days hanging out, finding stuff to do or places to go. 

I emptied out my entire closet of skeletons. I don't know if I was trying to wake her up and scare her off, or if I was simply getting all the secrets out of the way so she could have a true judgment of me. I do know this, it healed many open wounds. It didn't matter what my reasoning was, not two days after I told her my last dark secret the passion and romance flared like a forest covered in napalm. I was hooked, caught in the intoxication of her elixir. To have someone who's beauty and kindness seek me out, chase me, I was lost in a web of wonderment. 

All things fade and dim or grow stale with time. After our second daughter was born the same was true for us. We became so caught up in life that we forgot to live. Bills and budgets, schedules and plans, we lost the magic the wonder and as I sat at work the weight and the stress began to eat at me. I felt like I was loosing touch with everything, my wife, my girls, just chasing a paycheck that never seemed to be enough no matter what I did. I wanted to unplug, I wanted some real quality time. I text my wife and told her to cancel the plans, we were spending a day together, all of us. I took them out to eat, and then for ice cream and chocolates. I found a toy store with that old fashion feeling to it. They all looked at me like I had gone mad when I went to the grocery store and only bought a few jars of garlic stuffed olives. 

I realized one of the few things I never shared with my wife was my friends at the river. Out of the six years we had been together it just never occurred to me. She knew I was pulled to it, but never asked any further. I picked this day to share with her and my daughters the secret. I parked in a secluded spot and walked down the river bank with my bag of olives clanking. My girls were excited, they knew something was  up. My wife probably thought I'd finally cracked under the stress. 

I really had her mind reeling when I asked her to take a few pictures of us tossing olives into the river because we wouldn't be able to take pictures after. I had two jars for each of us. More than I had ever brought to the river before. Once we were far enough downstream, where I was sure we wouldn't be disturbed the girls and I climbed down the silty bank, right to the muddy water's edge. After the girls seen me toss a few in the river they were thrilled to throw anything that made a splash without being yelled at. 

My wife took pictures though her attitude and her face said she seen no point in any of it. I began to tell a story about a rare magical creature that swam in these murky waters. I told them how no one seemed to know about them or had any record to witnessing them. I told them how a young boy had discovered them by accident and learned their love for olives. By the time we had emptied the first three jars everyone was captivated by my story and eagerly watching the water. 

I began to worry. I never used this many olives before and there was still no sign. The girls went to grab the three last jars. I seen my wife's eyebrows raise as she nodded to the river. I spun around, could it be, was she seeing them called in? I couldn't believe what I saw. The river looked like those old time logging photos where you'd swear you could just walk across the water. I never knew there were so many. 

Right up front was my oldest friend Iliad just as close as he could get to the bank. Iliad had almost doubled in size since I last saw him. I turned and seen my wife lifting her phone, I motioned for her to not take any photos. I turned the girls around and pointed, "See some stories are true." I helped them open the last of the jars and brought my wife down to take my spot. 

I waded out but told the girls to stay on the bank with mommy. The silty mud was already sinking me in up to my knees. The water was so cold, but I wasn't about to pass the opportunity to touch my friend once again. "I don't think anyone else knows they exist. I know and now you know, its like our own little family secret. When we can we will visit them, but we must protect their secret." I rubbed Iliad's light skin, "Hello my friend, I see time has changed us both. Just look how both our families have grown." Those dark intelligent eyes spoke a language that needed no words, as I pointed out my family to his and introduced as many as I could. 

Some of the smaller ones even came up close enough for the girls to touch without sinking into the mud too deep. That was when I first began to understand what it was all really about. Sharing the magic, passing down the wonder. Now my wife and girls know there are still things in this world that cause us to question, to wonder, that force us to believe there's truly so much more.