The Afternoon

Oscar and Thalia sat face to face with each other in the living room of the house they’ve shared for the past five years of marriage. The two seats where they were perched had molded comfortably to their bodies, as they have spent many Saturday afternoons in the same position. Oscar was smiling at Thalia as he reached his hand toward hers and grasped it gently in his own. An ever present silence had settled itself between them, something the two of them have grown used to over the years.

A knock echoed through the house, causing both of them to jump. Thalia wasn’t sure who it could be, and was shocked by the unannounced visitor. Oscar’s eyebrows knitted together in puzzlement, and he started rubbing his chin, thinking of who it could be. He started to worry that maybe it was his friend, Matt, wanting him to help him out with some strange favor, which usually ended with Oscar dealing with whatever mess Matt had gotten them into. Finally, without a word, the couple made their way to the door. Thalia yanked it open, anxious to see who the visitor was, but they found no one there. Instead, they found a small bouquet of bright colorful wildflowers with a picnic basket next to it. A card was sticking out of the flowers with Thalia’s name on it, so she picked it up, and began reading it. As she kept reading the card, the grin on her face grew bigger and bigger, and Oscar watched with eager anticipation, as he finally realized what was happening.

In a world where the two of them had lost their voices and ability to listen to each other, the only way they were able to express their love for the other were through the simple gestures of holding hands, or in Oscar’s case, surprising Thalia with an afternoon picnic in the park.

Oscar had wanted to surprise Thalia, and with her love of food and the outdoors, he thought a picnic would be perfect. So he went online and searched for some ideas of what he could bring, when he came across a website that would send you picnic basket full of food, for a fee of course. He added the flowers to the order as well, sure that she would love the bright pinks and yellows of the wildflowers shown on the website. However, the order was supposed to come next week, not today.

Now though, as he watched his wife put her nose to the wildflowers and sniff them with the most blissful look on her face, he was happy that the surprise had come earlier than expected. Thalia turned to Oscar, her face beaming and love shining in her eyes. With her free hand, Thalia grabbed Oscar’s hand, squeezing it tightly.

Without breaking their gaze, the couple stepped outside, and locked the front door behind them. Oscar picked up the picnic basket, and they headed down the street toward the park, as the warm sunlight shined on them during their romantic afternoon.