On, In, and Around Mondays: Loving Like a Couch Potato

"Please?"

She's been following me around for days. Asking me to read the introduction to Sherlock Holmes. I don't really want to read the introduction to Sherlock Holmes. I keep putting it off.

The truth is, she doesn't want me to read the introduction. She wants me to read the whole thing. Both volumes. All six inches of detective capers.

I'm not much of a fiction reader. As fiction goes, I'm not much of a mystery reader. What are the chances?

Last night I settled down on the couch. Dim light played across dark green and cranberry paisley. What should I do? Sitting felt good. Maybe that's how I would spend this last hour of Sabbath-gone.

I noticed a notebook on the arm of the couch. I don't usually read my kids' notebooks— kind of a privacy thing. But this one was open. I scanned the page. It was a record of stories from Sherlock Holmes. There were lots of questions, probing questions, and descriptions of high points.

Flipping through, I discovered that the whole notebook was dedicated to Sherlock. Each story, beginning at story one, was commented upon, wrestled with, questioned, sometimes quoted. It was like an English teacher's dream.

The house was perfectly quiet. And suddenly I understood what love needed to do. I cracked open Volume I of Sherlock Holmes, paged to the first story, and began to read.

Somewhere around chapter two, I heard footsteps coming down the red oak stairs. Soft, soft. It was her. She'd been getting ready for bed, I guess, and seen the light.

Soon, her face was next to mine. She was smiling, and her eyes were bright, seeking.

"You're reading it?"

"I am."

She leaned into me, so warm, and her long dark hair fell across us both.

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On, In and Around Mondays (which partly means you can post any day and still add a link) is an invitation to write from where you are. Tell us what is on, in, around (over, under, near, by...) you. Feel free to write any which way... compose a tight poem or just ramble for a few paragraphs. But we should feel a sense of place. Would you like to try? Write something 'in place' and add your link below.

If you could kindly link back here when you post, it will create a central meeting place. :)

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This post is also shared with Laura Boggess, for...