Buy Me A Rose
by AJ
Disclaimers: The song "Buy Me A Rose" belongs to Kenny Rogers, who rocks.
The West Wing belongs to Aaron Sorkin, who rocks, as well.
Notes: Thanks to DC, Jenn, Cindy, and Chelle for letting me bounce this idea
off of them. And thanks to Becky for reading it for me, to make sure it
makes sense and stuff. :-)
He works hard to give her all he thinks she wants
A three car garage, her own credit cards
He pulls in late to wake her up with a kiss good night
If he could only read her mind, she'd say:
For many old fashioned thinkers, the male head of the household is
supposed to 'bring home the bacon,' meaning that it is their duty in the
family to work and provide for the family. They are to provide money for
food and other essentials, as well as non-essentials. So to do this, the
male goes to work every day and stays late, so that his loved ones can have
what they want and need.
That's how it used to be for Jed and Abbey. Well, Abbey also had her
job, but Jed wanted to fulfill that role that he was taught was his, as the
head of the household. He didn't want to do it to prove that he was a man,
but because he wanted to be able to say that he's there for his wife, and
that he provides for his family. He did it because he wants his family to be
happy and to never go wanting for something. He wanted to provide anything
Abbey could ever ask for. Had he only known what was on her mind. . .
Buy me a rose, call me from work
Open a door for me, what would it hurt
Show me you love me by the look in your eyes
These are the little things I need the most in my life
Thousands, perhaps even millions of marriages a year fall into this
age old situation, in which the married couple becomes too comfortable in
their relationship. Romance begins to die down. You stop doing all of those
cute courting rituals that you once did. Abbey loved the fact that Jed
wanted to provide for his family, but she hated that in doing this, he began
to neglect other things that he should be doing. Sure, it's nice to have a
big house, a nice car, plenty of clothes. But, if you don't have someone
there to share it with, then what's the point? A big house becomes monster
size when there is only one person there, because the other is busy working.
A nice car becomes petty if you don't get to use it to escape your duties
every once in a while with the one you love. And, there is no need to have
plenty of clothes, if the only time you spend with someone is at night, in
bed, asleep.
Now the days have grown to years of feeling all alone
And she can't help but wonder what she's doing wrong
Cause lately she'd try anything to turn his head
Would it make a difference if she said:
Abbey and Jed were married in the Catholic Church. They said vows
that they would always be together, no matter what. They were going to keep
those vows, no matter what. They took them seriously when they said them;
they were going to take them seriously now. The only thing is, that now is a
lot harder than then.
When they first starting dating, Jed did lots of romantic things.
He'd find some way to stick a rose in her car, or her backpack without her
seeing him. He'd leave notes for her in her apartment, in her books,
everywhere. He would call her every night before he would go to bed, and
every morning when he woke up. . . And several times in between. He told
her, and showed her how much he wanted to spend the rest of his life with
her. And, even in the first year of marriage, he kept up with most of this.
But, then he was consumed with financially providing for his family. He no
longer bought roses, no longer left notes.
Years went by, and they were growing so far apart. They both knew it,
but neither of them said anything. Maybe if she said something, maybe he
would change?
Buy me a rose, call me from work
Open a door for me, what would it hurt
Show me you love me by the look in your eyes
These are the little things I need the most in my life
Abbey wanted to scream at the top of her lungs. She wanted to yell at
Jed for not doing the things he used to do. She wanted to take him aside and
say, "Hey, start doing these things again! This is what I *need*! I don't
*need* you to work fourteen hour days so that I never see you. And, you
don't *need* to work those long days, for we both work, and make decent pay."
That's what she wanted to tell Jed. But for some reason, she never
did. She allowed herself to be just as neglectful as he.
And the more that he lives the less that he tries
To show her the love that he holds inside
And the more that she gives the more that he sees
This is a story of you and me
Late one night, working in his office at the State House as a
congressman, Jed caught a glimpse of a picture sitting on his desk. He then
began to realize that the only way he ever saw Abbey anymore, was in a
picture, or the few minutes that he would lay in bed at night before falling
asleep. Jed began to wonder how they could have let their love fade. They?
He. It was him that was working the long days. Abbey was always home from
the hospital at a decent hour. She would cook dinner for their girls, help
them with their homework, and then she would wait for Jed to come home, but
she always fell asleep first. Jed wanted to change that. He needed to
change that. He had to change that if he wanted to stay married for much
longer.
So I bought you a rose on the way home from work
Opened the door to a heart that I hurt
And I hope you notice this look in my eyes
Cause I'm gonna make things right
I'm gonna hold you tonight
Do all those little things
For the rest of your life
That night in the State House when Jed came to his sudden realization
that he was providing for his family in all of the ways that don't really
matter, he vowed to himself to change that. He refused to go another day
without showing Abbey that he was still in love with her.
He rushed out of his office and went to the closet florist, buying
one, single, long stemmed rose. Then, he went home in a hurry with a
determined mind.
When Jed got home, he looked around the house. Everything was quiet.
The girls were all in bed already, and Abbey had just retired herself into
her and Jed's bedroom.
Quietly, Jed crept up the stairs, the rose in his hands. With a
smile, he opened the door to his bedroom and was lucky enough to have Abbey's
back to him as she was getting ready for bed. Jed smirked, and closed the
distance between them as silently as he possibly could. Then, he wrapped his
arms around her, his right hand still holding the rose. Jed pressed his lips
to her neck and kissed her, then whispered into her ear, "I love you,
Abigail."
Abbey smiled, leaning back into the warmth that her husband's arms
provided as she sniffed the sweet scented rose in front of her. This is how
it was supposed to feel. This is how she wanted it to feel. "I love you,
too, Josiah," she responded before turning in his arms and kissing him
passionately.
Later that night, husband and wife lay blissfully in bed, holding each
other close. "This is what it's all about, isn't it?" Jed asked his lovely
wife.
Abbey kissed him on the lips and then whispered, "Let's never go back
to the way things were."
Jed was quick to respond, "Never. No, from now on, I will not only
tell you, but I will also show you every single day how much I love you."
Abbey smiled at him, "That makes two of us."
And so it goes on to show, Jed and Abbey continue to live up to the
promise they made each other, that they will never take their love, or
marriage for granted ever again, going from a typical old married couple into
*the* example of what a married couple should be like.
The End.