Pumpkin Spice and Everything Nice

Tonight my husband and I went on a date. Well, kind of a date if you consider thirty uninterrupted minutes sitting at a little table outside our local Starbucks a date. To me, it was most definitely a date.

We didn't plan it that way. One boy asked if he could go hang out at the library (can't complain about a kid wanting to do that) so instead of being faced with a fine that I knew would pop up on my library card, I elected to drop him off then treat myself to a pumpkin spice latte while I waited. Because my husband had already left the house to drop off our trash at the dump, I called to tell him where I would be. Jokingly, I asked if he would like to join me.

"Starbucks? I don't know about that."

He is most definitely not an overpriced-coffee kind of guy. He is, though, a guy who will go to great lengths to make his wife happy (most of the time).

I always have a book handy, so after making the drop-off at the library, I went on and found a table outside. I figured if nothing else, General Sherman and his march to the sea could keep me entertained for an hour. I had just opened my book when I heard that familiar rumble of a motor.

There he was. He was trying to maneuver his big blue Ford Supercab around a parking lot full of foreign compact cars and mini-vans like mine, and the truck is not the quietest thing in the world. I wasn't alone outside and I watched as several heads turned to see where all the racket was coming from.

Yeah. He's with me.

He snarled his nose when I asked him if he wanted anything.

"What I would like is a sweet tea."

I left him there and went in to order his tea. I know it sounds crazy, but the man is very particular about his sweet tea. We've tried to get one there before and he has never quite been satisfied. I ordered it "extra sweet" and prayed they would get it right.

One sip later said it all. He smiled, sat back, and with a cool breeze blowing on a late October night, we talked. About the kids (they doing their homework?), about his job (wishes he had another one), about my schoolwork (how many more classes?), and about my grandma's funeral (real sorry we couldn't get there). Thirty minutes went by pretty quick.

We threw away our cups and headed to our respective vehicles. At the stoplight, he went straight to go home and I took a right at the library. By the time I got back to the house, things were in their usual routine: husband on the computer, oldest on his laptop, girl in her room, and library boy off to a corner to read. Typical night with nothing out of the ordinary.

Except for my pumpkin spice latte and an impromptu date with my man.

It's those little things in life that make everything nice.