"Ellie!" I see pop up in a text message from her, as soon as I sit down at my desk.
"Miss me already?" I write back, grinning from ear to ear because I miss her already too.
She sends a winking emoji and, "I mean, obviously yes. But also, you forgot your lunch! It was sitting right by the door. I almost tripped over it on my way out to work. Are you going to starve?"
"Fuck!" I mutter to myself. Looking around quickly, to make sure none of my cubical mates heard me. I put it on the floor by the door so I wouldn't forget it. Gods bless this ADHD brain of mine. "Yes." I say simply, with a string of the saddest looking emojis I can find. Ending, naturally, with the elephant. "I am so busy today." I continue, "I will just have to make the granola bar I have in my desk drawer last me all day. Maybe I'll flirt with Kevin, and be rewarded with a yogurt cup or something." I chuckle to myself and slap my phone faced down on my desk in an attempt to refocus my energy.
Kevin is the office homophobe who most recently had to be "handled" after having casually shared with his peer, "It's not that I care that some people are gay, I just don't want it shoved down my throat all the time. Be gay. I just don't want to have to look at it." He's in the closet for sure.
After I send a cheeky wink to the back of Kevin's head, three cubes down from me, I dig into my unread emails so I can begin to triage my day.
I am pulled out of my hyper focus when someone puts their hands on both of my shoulders and kisses me on the cheek. Shocked, I spin around, startled to see my beautiful wife.
"Babe!" I exclaim, and pop up to throw my arms around her shoulders. "What are you doing here?" I ask, as I see clearly that she is bringing me my lunch. Along with what is sure to be my favorite latte. "I can't believe you brought that for me. Come here." I give her an office-appropriate kiss.
I put her gifts down on my desk, and grab her by her hand to drag her out to the hallway so I can thank her more enthusiastically.
As soon as it is appropriate I stop, spin around to face her again, and throw my arms around her in our most signature hug. Arms wrapped fully around each other's backs. Faces buried into each other's necks so we are touching cheek to cheek, and breathing each other's air. Our little safe space between our two hearts.
"You're too good to me." I say, muffled by our embrace. We release our hold so we're standing face-to-face, softly holding each other by our forearms.
She gives me a kiss on the tip of my nose. "Can't let my Ellie Phant starve. We have a date tonight and I want you to have your energy for when you want to thank me for taking you to your favorite restaurant." She kisses me, while giggling, and says, "You're welcome, in advance, by the way."
My god, she kills me. I love her so much. Five years together, and I still get butterflies when she flirts with me.
"Where's Kevin? By the way." She asks, while tip toeing back towards the damned cubes. "I want to give him some cash for all the yogurts he's sure to have given you."
We fall out laughing, at our favorite genre of inside jokes: Fuckin' with homophobes. I pull her to me and say, "Seriously, thank you. You've saved me from what was already going to be a really stressful day. My afternoon blood sugar thanks you."