The theme was rom-com…one of my least favorite genres….and all I can say is, it started out fluffy? #sorrynotsorry

First comes the meet cute,
Boy meets girl or girl meets boy
Or boy meets dog or…no, wait a minute…
Wrong story.

Anyway, they meet. Words are exchanged,
A few flirtations, some warming of the cheeks.
She of the long, luscious hair and he
Of the strong jawline.

Then comes the pining. She’s old-fashioned, likes the pursuit.
But he’s a millennial and doesn’t know
How to voice his feelings into the words,
“Will you go out with me?”

So she glares in frustration and flounces away
And he moans with his guy friends
That her standards are too high until,
In a fit of desperation, he asks if she likes coffee.

Despite the lackluster start, the date happens, which is the next step.
His nerves spill coffee all over her new sweater,
But she’s a good sport and the resulting quest
To find paper towels knits them closer together.

And he of the few words and the clumsy fingers gets a second date.
And a third. And before they know it,
The guy and the girl are so wrapped up in each other,
They forget they have friends.

But all cannot be goo-goo eyes and uncomfortable public displays of affection,
Because that would not be enough drama for
She of the high standards and
He of the fair weather friendships.

So now there is the conflict. She doesn’t remember special anniversaries,
He still plays too many video games and
Has a mad wife in the attic….no, wait…
Wrong story, but –

They break up. And the friends that they forgot
Conveniently have big hearts and welcome them back
So that they can gripe and mourn and receive assurance
That their significant others didn’t deserve them.

But since they have bought into the lie that they have no worth
Unless they have some sort of love interest,
The guy dramatically throws away his X-box
Right in front of the girl.

She is touched by his sacrificial display of love
And runs to be swept up in his arms,
Making sure the angle is right for her girlfriends
To catch the moment for Instagram.

They kiss and they cry and maybe there’s a ring involved,
Maybe there isn’t. But this is where we must leave.
Their relationship may last, it may not,
But we’re not interested in the longevity of the affair.

We’re caught up in the pursuit,
In the displays of passion,
Not the love that lasts through years of
Ups and downs and old age.

We’ll stay on the surface with the fluff and the rings
And the wedding in sight, but don’t lift the filter.
Don’t show the arguments and the real difficulties,
That detract from the twinkling lights and bright smiles.

Because we don’t want the settled, mundane pace of
Day to day affection and living
Because that’s not how you write a rom-con –
Excuse me, a rom-com.