Page 73 of Axe-identally Married
After a lotof deliberation and a couple of shitty nights of sleep, I’d decided it was time to pull out all the stops.
The knitting gals were right. I had to step it up in the romance department. They didn’t know the particulars, but the general sentiment was correct. Keeping a woman like Willa took effort.
And while I was trying hard to keep a lid on my feelings, every time I caught her checking me out, it gave me a thrill.
The more I thought about it, the more I wondered if maybe Jude had been right all along. Considering he lived like a monk, I hadn’t put much stock in his advice, but all this pent-up energy and tension gathering inside me needed an outlet.
So I went to the garage and grabbed the splitting maul from the back where I’d stashed it after knitting club. Then I dragged a few logs over to the side of the house. I chose the spot because it was level, but also because Willa could clearly see it from where she spent Saturday afternoons sitting at the kitchen island drinking tea and reading medical journal articles.
The air was frigid, but my cheeks warmed in the bright winter sun. I felt mildly ridiculous, going to all this effort, but the cottage did have a small fireplace, and we had used it a bit lately. So splitting firewood wasn’t implausible.
As I set up, I surreptitiously glanced inside. Sure enough, she was reading and sipping tea, looking adorable with a yellow highlighter stuck into her ponytail and wearing a faded UMaine T-shirt that kept slipping off one shoulder. I yanked my phone from my pocket and took a quick photo of her. It was a total stalker move, but she looked so beautiful in this natural light.
After a few trips, I had a dozen or so thick logs ready to split. Jude had taken pity on me and given me wide pine, which would be easy to split.
I used the planks in the garage to create a stable base, then lined up the first log. For a few minutes, I stretched my shoulders out, walking around the grassy area that led to the rocky path to the lake and noting how perfect the spot would be for a patio, maybe an outdoor fire pit.
I could see hosting cookouts here in the summer, enjoying the shade of the tall oaks between dips in the lake to cool off.
Shaking off the thought, I focused on the task at hand. Before I could daydream about that kind of stuff, I had to impress my wife.
So, maul in hand, I staggered my stance as Jude had taught me, and swung, focusing on creating an arc with my shoulders and using my core to bring the axe down.
It hit the side of the log, slicing off only a tiny chunk.
Shit.
I rolled my shoulders and focused on keeping my breaths steady rather than getting frustrated. I needed to do better.
I replayed Jude’s instructions in my head and hefted the maul, getting comfortable with the weight of it.
The next time I swung, I focused more on the log and less on looking manly, and the blade came down, slicing it in two perfectly equal halves.
Yes.
I resisted the urge to pump my fist. Now that it was in half, I needed to get it into quarters.
Focus, Cole. Do not look at Willa.
As much as I wanted her eyes on me, I had to be cool.
I took a deep breath and swung again. The blade fell perfectly, slicing the wood.
As I was grinning down at it, a crashing noise from inside startled me.
Whipping around, I squinted, trying to make out what was happening on the other side of the glass. All I found was the back of Willa’s head.
Huh.
Maybe she had seen me.
Regardless, I’d hauled all these logs back here, so I might as well chop them. So I set up another.
Thwack. Okay, that felt better. Maybe I’d eventually get the hang of this.
Movement out of the corner of my eye caught my attention. Without turning, I registered the sight. It was Willa. Standing by the window, watching.
Okay, okay. Don’t screw this up, Cole.
