365 Project Day 248: Rainy Rendezvous

Canon 5D Mark ll, 50 1.2L, 1.4 aperture, 1/100 shutter, 400 ISO

I call him down to the muscadine trellis, just as the rain begins to fall. It is our haven, a place we both dreamed of. I brought the vines home ten years prior, and he and Johnny built the frame to hold the heavy tendrils. Now, the vines hang with fruit, ripe and ready for picking. They are just out of my reach, but he gathers them for me and we pop sweetness into our mouths and smile. We are not completely sheltered from the rain, as the drops run down his cheek and fog up my lens. I am trying to capture this, endeavoring to frame this moment. We are veterans of the rain. We fell in love as we walked in it, over 25 years ago. He told me it looked good on me back then and I swooned. I still do.

He is wearing my new favorite shirt. He is handsome and huggable all at the same time. I move in closer, breathing in his warmth. It is just us, under the muscadine vines. I cannot believe how blessed I am. This moment, this husband, this place.

The rain gets heavier, louder. We are both getting soaked now. He gently smiles and I know he is graciously obliging me. He knows me now. He knows I am trying to capture the moment, to hold it awhile longer. The rain does not hinder me. It holds me, deepening my awareness, my skin coming alive with my heart. He has spent many years a willing student of all that is me, and he loves me, in spite of my many weaknesses. He has taught me much about love, this man.

I wrap up my images and my thoughts and kiss him. I love this man. I am so grateful that after all these years, we still rendezvous in the rain.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 ~ “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.”