Political Science 101

Chapter Fifty-Nine

BEING IN LOVE is one of the most delightfully difficult experiences of life. It begins with a search which seems to be more successful with less determination — people who spend their time searching for love never seem to find it, while those who don't seem to be looking tend to come across love with ease. A person knows when they've fallen in love, even if they do not immediately ascribe their emotions their true love as being what it is, but it is what it is, and it is being in love.

Being in love means becoming part of a whole, not being complete without the other. Jerry McGuire was onto something when he said, "You complete me." Falling in love is like finding a missing piece you didn't know was missing — or even existed, for that matter — but once it's found, you simply cannot live without it.

Being in love is a delicate balance of the emotional, the intellectual, and the physical. The emotions connect, almost flawlessly; the intellect enlightens, almost continuously; the physical accentuates, almost blissfully. Sometimes this balance becomes uneven, causing difficulties, disagreements, and disputes. But in the end, love performs its most important miracle of all: Love forgives.

Ana constantly wondered, would Mitch ever forgive her if (or when) he learned the truth about her past or the motivation behind the original circumstances of how they met? She wondered this, and she wondered this often. Actually, she worried. But she was in love with him, and she was sure Mitch was in love with her as well. Several months prior, they began saying it, and they both thought it felt so natural and right to tell the other, saying simply with, "I love you." And Ana said it a lot. And she meant it every time.

Tonight, Mitch had invited Ana over for the evening for a quiet romantic dinner at home and just a simple night of being together. Ana loved how Mitch could make things with such simplicity (such as a quiet evening at home) be so significant and so meaningful.

Mitch had mentioned that it was Ashlynn's birthday and he hadn't stopped talking about the car he'd gotten, and how he didn't really expect her to be home before her 11:00 curfew; so this calm Friday evening would be a great evening to have some relaxing alone time.

As Ana sat in her car in the parking lot of Mitch's townhome complex, she stared out the window of her car the nothing she could see a thousand miles away. "Fix You" by Coldplay was playing on repeat through her car stereo. She was in love with Mitch Bradley — without question — but to her, it was out of balance. Because after being together for over a year, they still had not had sex. Mitch had mentioned the possibility (in-passing, almost like a joke) of getting married "one of these days," but he also remained quite resolute about not wanting to have sex unless he was married.

"I wish I'd waited the first time," Mitch told her near the beginning of their relationship, "and I want to do it right this time."

However, as Ana sat in her car, listening to that song over-and-over-again, she decided she would make this night the night. It's not that she was tired of waiting, she was just ready to take their relationship further and, as she listened to the soothing melody of the slow part of "Fix You," she convinced herself that Mitch would not regret it.

She sat for a few more minutes, listening to the song again as it started anew. She loved the sound of his voice in front of those beautiful church-sounding organ tones. She loved what it was about: "Lights will guide you home ... and I will try to fix you." It was a song about being broken and hurt, but not giving up, because there was always someone out there who was willing to offer a warm embrace and (at least try to) make everything in the world feel better.

She loved how as the song progress, it also deepens with the strong acoustic guitar, adding a soft driving rhythm to the ballad as it continues to escalate. And then, seemingly out of nowhere, a single few electric guitar notes drive into the intensifying signature riff that has always defined the song, soring into the strong baseline and the heavy drums. "Tears stream down your face when you lose something you cannot replace," the song sings, as though it sang directly to her soul. The song ignited her emotions like a Roman candle and she could feel her pulse accelerate with each driving note. And then, at the end, it suddenly slows again, as though to the song needed to rest, and in a lower octave, he says it again: "...and I will try to fix you."

Such a great song.

She opened her car door and stood momentarily still. "Hmm," she said audibly with an uncomfortable smile, "quite the role reversal. Usually it's the guy making the move." But with purse and keys in-hand, she pushed her car door shut and made her way to the front door of Mitch's townhome. However, as she walked into his unlocked front door, she knew, regardless of tonight's outcome, it was probably going to be a wild ride.