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Note from Ro: This is a Best of Ro Muse.
Ro Paxman
A Healthy Addiction
Concrete under her feet, she shivered in the wind. When she talked, she could hear the raspy sounds escape her vocal chords betraying the late nights, nursing her obsession.
“You have a cold,” he said.
“Hmmmm,” she replied, not wishing to lie and yet not wishing to tell him the truth.
“You ought to take something for that. My mother used to make me a drink of hot water, lemon and honey.”
“Sounds soothing,” she replied.
“Yes, it was.” He smiled. “But some of her concoctions weren’t quite as pleasant.”
“Oh?” She laughed.
“Anytime that I coughed, she stuck me in bed with a mustard plaster.”
“What on earth is that?”
“Some kind of pasty stuff that she smeared between dishtowels. If she made her cure too hot, my skin would turn beet red and I would beg to take it off.”
“You poor thing,” she commiserated.
“Maybe I ought to put you in bed with a mustard plaster,” he winked. “It might be just the thing.”
“No, I’ll be alright. I just need to relax.”
“Perhaps, you’re right. You have been working hard. You were up until 2 a.m. last night!”
“Yes, I was up late,” she said, looking around desperately to see if she could discover something to distract him with. He was getting too close to her secret.
“Maybe, you ought to give up your job and find another one, dear,” he said. “One that will allow you to have more free time. I’d love to see you pursue your interests.”
“You think so?” She smiled brightly at him. “You don’t mind if I spend time on my hobbies?”
“Of course not.”
“Well... then... I have a confession to make. If you are sure you don’t mind... I think that I had better tell you that I’ve been hiding something from you.”
As he listened, his face turned white. What could his wife be hiding from him? Gulping he said, “Go ahead.”
“I’m addicted to something.”
“Addicted?”
“Yes. Addicted.”
“As in, you need a ‘12 Step Program and our lives are about to fall apart’ addicted?”
“No, not addicted in that way.”
He was confused. “Is this an addiction that I need to be worried about?”
“Not really. It is a healthy addiction.”
“Healthy? You have an addiction that is healthy?”
“Yes. I am happy when I am doing it, but I have been hiding it from you just the same. It is the reason that I am tired and that is why I sound like I have a cold.”
“You haven’t been working?”
“No.”
“But, I see you at the computer for hours. You look like you are working.”
She grinned at him. “No, I haven’t been working. I’ve been digital scrapbooking.”
“Digital scrapbooking? Isn’t scrapbooking gluing things onto paper? Where does the digital come into it?”
Laughing, she said, “No silly... I am making my layouts on the computer and printing them out. I have just finished something and I guess it is time to show you. I was hoping to wait until after we ate cake at the restaurant, but here you go... happy birthday!”
She pulled a wrapped package out of the enormous bag she carried and grinned. When he opened it, he saw a book with his name on it. As he flipped through the pages, he was delighted to see page after page filled with the events of his childhood.
“How did you do this?”
“Your mom gave me your pictures and told me the stories. I scanned them in, cleaned them up in Photoshop Elements, made the layouts in there, too, and printed them out. I hope you like it.”
“Like it?” He smiled. “It’s the best present you have ever given me.”
“Thanks,” she croaked. “Would you do something for me now?”
“Sure. What do you want?”
“How about some of that lemon and honey, honey...”
- Ro
Muse: To be absorbed in one's thoughts; engage in meditation. Not intended to solve the world's problems, another person's problems, or to cover topics completely. One does not have to agree with musings to enjoy them, just as one does not have to be the same as someone else to appreciate who they are.
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