NOTE: This story is based on the song "Good Morning Beautiful", performed by Steve Holy.
"Good morning beautiful, how was your night?
Mine was wonderful with you by my side
When I open my eyes and see your sweet face
It's a good morning beautiful day."
I don't usually do dedications, but this one's for my Captain, who makes every day beautiful.
*
Sunlight streamed through the venetian blinds, making it impossible to sleep any longer. Wide awake, Caleb turned toward the woman beside him and opened his eyes.
Sara was still asleep. Caleb had the side of the bed closer to the windows; the light had wakened him first. He studied her features, softened in sleep. She was beautiful. The night they'd met, he had seen something about her, an aura for want of a better word, that had drawn him to her. It had taken only a short time before he'd realized her beauty was more than skin deep.
He hadn't expected to find love when he'd joined the dating site. It wasn't that kind of site. He'd found it while wandering the Web and had thought it might be a way to at least find a friend with benefits. It had been about a year since his last girlfriend, and he hadn't even had a date since her. He'd never had much luck with dating anyway, so female friend who was willing to sleep with him would be good enough. His work schedule was so messed up in the summer he barely had time for anything else but work and sleep, so it was nearly impossible to meet people in any of the standard ways. If he had found someone to hook up with, though, he would definitely have made time for that.
Instead he'd found Sara. He'd only been on the site for a week, maybe a week and a half, when he'd gone to a party thrown by another member. A tame, back yard party, though somewhat fueled by alcohol. He'd shown up early to help the hostess set up. Over the next couple hours he'd scouted out a few women whom he'd decided to get to know better in the hopes that it might lead to something.
Sara had arrived two or three hours after he had. When he'd seen her, all thoughts of other women had flown right out of his mind.
He had gotten used to being alone. A long time ago, he'd decided dating and marriage weren't for him. The former wasn't easy for him, and he'd never even come close to the latter. It hadn't mattered, at least not that he'd let himself admit. He had no reason to care about something he didn't have. He'd formed his life around his work, which he loved as long as it involved ships and the sea, and around computer games and books. He barely knew day from night; his work hours sometimes encompassed both, and with no one else to think about he'd set his own schedule. He slept when he felt like it, ate when he wanted. It didn't matter.
The night he and Sara had met, he'd persuaded her to share a hotel room. She had been planning to drive two and a half hours home but was too tired to do so safely, and he'd had a bit too much to drink to make the forty-five minute drive to his own home. The next day when he'd awakened beside her, he'd realized everything did matter. Waking up next to a beautiful woman in the morning. This was what he was missing, what he wanted, and he wanted it with her.
Two days later, he'd decided to be exclusive with her. She'd agreed. After a few weeks of spending his days off with her and her children, he'd realized he loved her.
He hadn't been looking for love, but he'd found something better than he'd ever imagined. The most amazing part was that she loved him too.
It had been several months now since they'd met. They were so compatible it was scary sometimes. Shared interests, memories of enjoying the same things as children. Not only did they finish each other's sentences, sometimes they spoke each other's thoughts.
During his workweek, he felt like a machine: work to food to computer to sleep, then rising the next morning to repeat the cycle. But after his last workday of the week, when he drove two hours to see Sara and her kids, he came to life.
At least now, in the winter, his weekends actually were weekends, instead of falling in the middle of the week as they did in the busy summer season. In the winter, Sara had the same days off he did, which gave them more time together.
She stirred in her sleep. To encourage her to wake, Caleb kissed her cheek. Her eyes fluttered open and she smiled. "Hi."
