I awoke to the sound of waves gently breaking on the shore. The air was cool and fresh. I reached across, just to check, Claire was there. I never wanted to lose Claire again. I looked around the room, the B&B was decorated in Victorian country cottage style. We had the attic room, there were dormers on three sides; one of them open to let the fresh air and the sound of the surf in.

Claire opened her eyes. Recognition dawned on her face, she smiled. I couldn’t resist that smile, but before I melted I had a mission. “Happy anniversary.” Reaching over my side of the bed, I picked up the card and handed it to her.

“Oh.”

She opened the card, it was a simple card, with a simple message on the front in big block letters. “My life did suck without you.” Originally, it had said ‘would’, not ‘did’, I’d crossed out the ‘would’ and written in ‘did’ instead.

“Aww.” She kissed me and snuggled into my chest hair. Then she bounced up, with her usual energy and also produced a card (seemingly out of thin air).

The card was a similar style, the bold letters on the front said, “I think I’ll keep you (like forever.)” I chuckled and smiled. Claire snuggled again, and said, “It was either that, or the one which said, ‘I love you with all my heart and genitals.'” We both cracked up.

“Ten years.” She said in a contemplative voice.