My heart never loved you enough Your soul remaining untouched like a diamond in the rough

If I could count the ways I love you My feelings for you would be capped Withholding true connection like an unspoken pack.

If I could count the ways I love you I would be being untrue with you Because my love for you is infinite, immeasurable and true.

Danesha Clark had a secret. The annual Clark Family Camping trip was her favorite time of year. Not because of the scenic Mountain View’s or the lush hiking trails. Because they went on this trip with another family, the Englands’. The Clark’s and the Englands had been taking this camping trip every summer for the last five summers. Danesha’s kids loved fishing with little Matt England, even though he was four years younger than her preteen twins. Dylan and Marcus had taken to him like older brothers, teaching him how to fish and taking him on too fast quad rides up the mountain. Danesha, her husband Travis, Molly and Harvey England got on very well, Travis and Molly both working at the same law firm since graduation. This yearly tradition being an escape from the bustle of city living and gave them all a chance to truly unplug. Late into the first night of their five day trip all four adults sat by the roaring fire while the boys giggled and blinded each other with flash lights in their tent. Travis gulped down his forth Bud Light while Molly nodded off in her lounge camping chair. Danesha and Harvey were deep in conversation about their youth and how they wished they had a fraction of the energy their boys had. Harvey and Danesha always found themselves buried in engaging conversations. Nights like tonight were why Danesha relished this camping trip. Harvey was funny and understanding. He always listened with intention to whatever she was saying and made her feel seen. Travis pulled himself up and kissed Danesha on her head. “I’m off to bed,babes.” Danesha hated that pet name. She feigned a smile and wished him a good night. Molly sat snoozing in her lounge her mouth gapping open slightly. “ I wish I slept that soundly,” she chuckled. Harvey glanced at his wife and shook his head. “ She only sleeps that well after the booze kicks in. She works crazy hours and doesn’t sleep very well during the work week. Then on weekends she nurses a glass of wine or six and passes out wherever she lands.” Harvey glanced at Danesha apologetically. “ I’m sorry, I shouldn’t talk about her like that with you.” Danesha patted his knee. “No, it’s ok. From one work wife to another, trust me,I understand.” She winked at him but became aware that her hand was lingering too long. She meant to pull it back when he placed his hand on hers and squeezed. Their eyes met and Danesha caught herself admiring his strong, square jaw and perfectly trimmed beard. Harvey’s eyes were deep, velvety brown and laser focused on her own. Harvey leaned forward and tucked a piece of her dark hair behind her ear. “I love these trips. The quiet. The fire. The company.” Danesha blushed as Harvey’s hand stroked her cheek, his thumb tracing her lower lip. “Harvey..”, she began. “We can’t. Molly is right there. What about the boys.” Her attempts to dissuade him from what she felt pulsing through the both of them was halfhearted. She knew she wanted him to continue. Harvey tested her resolve and slowly ran his hand over shoulder to her wrist and down her hand. Before she let his hand slip away from her fingers she lurched towards him and pulled him close. Their faces inches from each other now, Danesha could smell the sweetness from the smores he had earlier on his breath. “I’m sorry.” She whispered and before her brain had a moment to calculate the consequences of her actions her mouth enveloped his. Havrvey moaned in response to the sudden lip lock, his voice deep and hungry. He pulled her into his lap and let his hands explore her as their tongues played with each other. His lips were soft and expertly suckled hers as they devoured each other in this forbidden moment. Danesha clung to his strong neck life a life preserver as she sank deeper into his pillowy lips. After what felt like mere seconds or maybe hours Danesha and Harvey surfaced. Each out of breath and starving for more. “We come here every year to get away.” Harvey said breaking their trance. “Will you come away with me? I know I sound crazy and stupid but maybe just for these five days every year we can forget about PTA, soccer practice and drunk spouses.” His velvet eyes pleaded with her. Danesha wordlessly stood up from his lap and lead him by the hand to the back of her family’s Suburban. After securing the back seats down she and Harvey laid in the spacious cargo area of her family car. Danesha kissed Harvey hungrily and unclasped her bra. “This is my favorite trip of the year. I waited five long years for you to catch on. I’ll be your escape and you will be mine.” Harvey tore off her shirt and the two escaped into their own little slice of heaven.

When he first arrived in the dusty city of Amman, Jordan, he was angry with the hand life had dealt him. Why did the company maroon him here? In the Middle East of all places. Yes, he had a proven track record of turning poor performance around in a short amount of time but to his mind that should mean a promotion not a babysitting job half way around the world. He dragged his feet into the office, his first Monday in Amman, preparing to cycle through the dismal quarterly reports the locals were churning out and regurgitate his prepared lecture on high performance culture and how he was a friend who was only here to help. Of course “ helping” usually came with layoffs of the bottom performers and a restructure of management. Two sentences into his “I’m the friend you never asked for” speech, a hand shot up out of the crowd. “I will be happy to answer all questions at the end of my presentation.” The hand remained raised and a small woman stood up. “I want to say thank you for coming all this way!” Her English was broken but her voice was strong and clear. “No one has ever come to help us before.” He fully intended to ignore this little woman’s out burst when the entire conference room erupted in applause. The shock on his face was only over shadowed by the rising flush in his cheeks. He had done this sort of thing over a dozen times. He was usually met with feigned politeness by the crews he met. They would smile and shake his hand but everyone knew why he was really there. He was the harbinger of corporate disappointment, tasked with weeding out the weak links and correcting the course of the satellite location he was visiting. The applause banging in his ears rang louder as he realized that they misunderstood the reason for his presence. Sure he was here to help, but not them. Later that afternoon as he sorted through the files of this locations lowest earners, the small woman appeared at the door to the conference room he had been given as an interim office. “How can I help you?” He kept his tone professional and cold. “I wanted to invite you for dinner with my team. We have many ideas to help make the company more competitive.” Her smile was genuine, giving him a pang of guilt he had never experienced before. If she only understood how this worked. Find the problem. Eliminate it. Move on to the next location. Her warm gesture and honest determination behind her eyes got the better of him and he found himself agreeing to join them. They were finished with dinner and enjoying coffee by the time anyone brought up the subject of work. The small woman started first, “We have been asking corporate for help for six months and we are so happy you are here. Our branch has already started working on ways to increase our output and one of the ideas we had was to hire five new teammates” He chuckled, she must be joking. He was there to trim the fat not feed the pig. “I am sorry, hiring is not within the budget right now. Our productivity optimization program has been put in place to decrease the number of people needed to achieve company goals.” He wanted to gag at his own sterilized corporate bullshit response. “Well when corporate reassigned our top associates to the US office we did our best to absorb the work load. Corporate never adjusted our sales goals after the reassignment and we have been asking for help ever since.” She looked at him hopefully. The entire table beamed at him as though he was the white knight finally come to save them. He gulped down his remaining coffee and thanked them for a lovely dinner. Back in his hotel room he stared at the ceiling contemplating his next move. Play the part of corporate butcher? Or help these people keep their jobs after being screwed over by the greed of a heartless company. He never was the good guy and it would be nice to leave a place better then he found it for once.

Over the next month he worked closely with the team helping them streamline processes and train new team members. Every night was dinner a someone else’s home where the Turkish coffee flowed freely and the conversation was jovial and rich. One of the salesmen’s grandmother started teaching him how to make Kofta, a Palestinian meatloaf dish. Amman began to feel like home. It’s natural beauty complimented by its warm and welcoming people. He had come to love this place and the team he worked so closely with. Duty done and a fully trained team in place, he knew it was time to leave. On the plane ride home he smiled as he thought of the tiny hand that shattered his monotonous life and the team that embraced him and showed him what truly helping others was. He vowed to carry a peice of this place with him and to always remember Amman.