the first time my special mister (we’ll call him S from here on out) came over to my house, he noted how the height of my DVD and DVR boxes obstructed the viewing of the bottom of my television screen.

“i know,” i said matter-of-factly, “it’s really annoying when shows have subtitles (i.e. si on duck dynasty).” i went onto explain how i would oftentimes contort my body in order to make out the scrolling updates along the bottom of espn or let’s be honest, the e! channel but, mostly out of sheer laziness, i had never thought to do anything to amend the problem.

he smiled, entertained by “creative” solution to my tv-watching plight. almost as matter-of-factly as i had been in my explanation, did he offer a response. “i could make you something for it.”

“wait, really?” i inquired, thinking it was one of those promises people make in the heat of the moment, with little intention of seeing them to fruition.

“yep,” he answered confidently.

okay, i thought. while he had referenced his handiness in previous conversations, and the girls who had set us up had also corroborated his knack for DIY, i knew better than to get my hopes up too high.

but then during our conversation the very next evening, S had me locate my tape measurer (you’re impressed i even have one of those on hand, aren’t you?) and stayed on the phone as i took note of the dimensions of both the DVD and DVR boxes. he made a noise in agreement, saying something about how he had guesstimated similar dimensions so clearly this wasn’t his first rodeo. i apparently had my own personal carpenter on my hands.

two days later, when i greeted him at the door before date night, not only did i find a handsome plaid-clad man, but a handsome plaid-clad carrying a home-made tv stand. in a matter of days, he had simply whipped up a little something to make tv-viewing a less arduous task. i mean, what a guy.

he told me that it needed a fresh coat of paint, preferably the same hue as my sky blue-colored walls. having just had the interior of my house touched-up, i located the left-over bucket of paint in one of my storage cabinets in my garage. “like this?” i said as i held it up by the wire handle. precisely.

the following weekend, i laid down trash bags and changed into scrubbies to add my artistic touch to his handiwork. he supervised as i meticulously covered the piece of furniture in a healthy coat of paint. (side note: painting is oddly therapeutic). we let it dry overnight before finally taking it upstairs to put it into place.

before.

i looked on nervously as he plopped the structure into place. thanks to my fabulous measuring skills (cough, cough), it hovered perfectly over each of the respective boxes. he lifted the tv up onto its flat platform, re-centering it as he rearranged the adjacent miscellaneous dvds. we both stood back to assess and admire what had become a laud-worthy display of teamwork.

he makes, i paint. i think this partnership is going to work out just fine.

some men come to the door with flowers, mine showed up with one better -a tv stand he had built with his own two hands.

because flowers fade, but proper television-viewing is forever.

after.