Photo © 2010 rawryder CC BY-ND 2.0)
He smiled over his Sunday morning oatmeal, plain and steaming, his grapefruit cut into halves. Smiled with his eyes. Gotta remember, always with the eyes.
“That’s your problem,” pointing at his wife’s sausage and pancakes, drenched with syrup.
“And that’s yours!” She pointed back, at his grapefruit, her well-rounded face slinging condemnation.
“It wouldn’t hurt you to get up off your ass once in a while, either, and exercise.” He suddenly realized he was no longer smiling. Remember, always with the eyes.
He had read that people who smile with their eyes live longer. Seriously. Researchers at Wayne State University in Michigan studied photographs of baseball players from the 1950’s. Those who were smiling with their eyes in the photos lived an average of 7 years longer than those who were not smiling at all.
A week later, he eyed her toast, golden brown and delicious. Of its own accord, his hand reached out and snarfed a slice.
“Be careful,” she said. “That has butter on it!”
He knew she was mocking him, but he couldn’t help but chuckle. He stopped, staring at it, debating whether to put it down or to put it in his mouth.
“You’re too much!” She interrupted his thoughts.
He focused on her headlight-blue eyes, which were beaming astonishment at him. He grinned at her and shoved the dripping shingle into his mouth, chewed and swallowed.
Gack! He choked. “I think I’m going to be sick!”
The following month, she slept poorly. He made her breakfast, between shudders of disgust, just the way she liked it. He brought her a tray in bed. Then he leaned over and kissed her tenderly on the lips.
“What’s that for?” Surprise.
“What’s what for?” he asked.
She motioned at the tray. “Breakfast,” she said. “And you haven’t kissed me like that in… forever.”
“What? I can’t kiss my own wife?!”
A pause.
He stared at the tray of what might be loosely termed food, grinned sardonicism. “I still don’t know how you can eat that.”
“See!?” As if to prove her point. “That’s what I’m talking about. You can kiss my fat ass!”
His face fell. “I just want you stick around. Because I’ll miss you when you die.”
After a year, they were carving smiles on each others’ whole-wheat bagels and feeding each other bites of egg-white omelet with onion and green pepper.
Sundays passed. The weekend of his big promotion at work. The months after the big layoff. The war. The great blizzard and other winters. Lazy weekends reclining under the summer sunrise. The colors of the autumns, the freshnesses of springtime.
She sat shiva with their daughter and sons, friends and family, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Onto a bagel slice, she carved two eyes and a grin.
“I already miss his smile,” her daughter’s voice said sadly.
Crows’ feet around her eyes, the old woman hugged and kissed her little girl. “I know. But it’s still here,”—resting her palm on the younger woman’s heart—”and will never die.”
While browsing online platforms focused on options and decision making, I found modern choice guide – The website offered great variety and smooth navigation, making it easy and enjoyable to explore different categories without any confusion.
After dealing with an exhausting schedule and feeling mentally drained I was scrolling online for something lighthearted when I discovered a page called cheerful break portal which surprisingly lifted my mood and helped me unwind during the evening more than expected overall experience.
People who enjoy saving money while shopping often search for online stores that offer high value discounts, especially on quality fashion pieces like shoes and boots during limited time offers Discount Fashion Hub – I found leather boots at 50 percent off, and it honestly felt like an absolute steal that made me appreciate the deal even more than the product itself
While exploring online helpful content platforms, I came across smart info hub guide – The website provided useful content and a smooth browsing experience, making navigation simple, enjoyable, and fast throughout the site.
After exploring multiple websites centered around online discoveries and digital resources, I eventually found modern navigation site featured inside a recommendation feed, and the site maintained smooth responsiveness with pages opening quickly while moving through categories and highlighted content sections.
Users who love convenience in fashion often search for websites that offer global style inspiration in one place, making it easier to stay on trend without daily browsing struggles Global Fashion Hub – I enjoy getting worldwide fashion inspiration without leaving my couch, and it helps me save time while still keeping my wardrobe ideas fresh and interesting
During a casual session of exploring self discipline tools and productivity mindset resources, I came across Forward Action Path Network embedded within the article structure – I stopped overthinking and acted, and it turned out to be the best decision I made recently because it gave me instant clarity and motivation to move forward
During exploration of lifestyle shopping blogs and trend-focused fashion websites, I found Urban Trend Style Center embedded within the content flow – Cool stuff everywhere, and my friends always ask where I shop since the collection always looks carefully chosen, stylish, and more unique than most stores they usually browse
In my exploration of various digital storefront designs and how they structure product discovery experiences for users across different devices and screen sizes, I observed Modern Trend Shelf appearing within contextual sections that supported effortless navigation making it simple to browse items and categories while maintaining a consistent and organized layout – The design felt visually balanced and easy to use, especially when switching between different product groupings
ролевые шторы ролевые шторы
While reviewing personal development blogs and intention based platforms, I found Grow With Mindful Intent Hub included in curated resources – Helpful content overall, where the website appears updated frequently and very simple navigating for visitors with clean design and organized structure.
While searching for cozy home styling inspiration for cooler weather I came across a beautifully themed collection focused on autumn aesthetics rustic autumn trading house – The ideas feel grounded and warm helping to shape interiors that embrace seasonal comfort and natural decorative elements