Quiet fire.

So far, this has been the Best. Year. Ever.

I’m parked in my living room on New Year’s Day writing this while my girlfriend is sitting at the dining room table, checking her email and preparing to launch into her next few projects, and neither one of us is saying anything. I’ve just made a ridiculously cozy fire, in front of which her dog Penny is soundly sleeping, and we’re not saying a word because nothing needs to be said, other than what I’m about to tell you.

Which is: how this whole scenario is a dream come true.

I’ve always imagined being with a woman who was creative (she’s an illustrator) and working side by side on a wintry day (I’d play “California Dreamin” right now, but neither of us can concentrate if there’s any music on), occasionally taking a break to walk over to her work space and gently kiss her on the back of the neck, which I’m about to do right now.

Let’s see if it annoys her. BRB.

Nope. She smiled her radiant smile and laughed.

Now it’s back to work. But the truth is I don’t wanna work. I just wanna hold her in my arms and gaze into her beautiful green eyes. Wait a minute! I need to mosey over there one more time. BRB.

She laughed again. She also says hello!

I hope I don’t sound too obnoxious because I don’t mean to. It’s just that I’m in love and it’s tough to sound cool when you’re in love. In fact, it’s taking everything in me not to walk over there again so, instead, I just subtly shift on my couch and can now surreptitiously look at her while she works.

She’s wearing her black reading glasses and staring intently into her laptop and looks so serious (and cute!) with her pursed lips and I can hear her tapping away on the keyboard and wonder what she’s typing. Maybe it’s something sweet about me. Lemme ask her.

Yes! She was emailing and Facebooking with a bunch of friends, telling them that she has a great, new boyfriend (moi!) and also doing some boring work stuff that you and I don’t really care about.

Penny has the best seat in the house, tucked cozily inside a blanket on a comfy chair in front of the fireplace, and I just threw another log onto the fire, plopped myself back down on the couch, and we are all perfectly content in the warm, quiet silence.

And then I feel loving arms around my shoulders and her soft lips gently caressing the back of my neck.

“Works over,” she says.

And so it is.