When I was younger, I used to imagine that I had an exotic name. Something like Octavia or Anastasia. Then I got a little older and I started to love really love formal sounding names. I made Liz call me Katherine for an entire summer. But Alex was always shortening it to Katie. He didn’t seem to understand that Katie was no better than Maria. But Katherine, now Katherine was a regal sounding name. But it didn’t matter, because we went back to school and everyone called me Maria and there was little that could be done.

Some people have called me Ria. I’m not too thrilled about that. But it’s the closest thing to a nickname that I’ve ever had.

Anyway, like I said, Maria is a perfectly boring name. It’s simple and plain. It gets the job done though. So I resigned myself to the fact that I was always going to secretly be someone exotic and mysterious, only no one would ever know because I was hidden behind this dull name.

But then something happened. Michael Guerin said my name. He says it differently than anyone has ever said it. He sort of draws it out, placing the emphasis on the beginning instead of the end. He softens the ‘r’ when he says it. He makes my name sound beautiful.

I can probably count on one hand the number of times he has said my name. He didn’t really say it in the context of a conversation for months after we began dating or whatever that was that we were doing. But just the sound of my name on his lips-I’ve never experienced anything quite like it. It made my heart skip.

I hate the sound of my name when he’s angry though. He makes it harsh. He puts all the emphasis on the ‘r’ then. It makes me wish that my name were Isabel when he’s angry. Because he never says her name in a harsh way. And he says her name all the time. But with me, it’s so rare that he says ‘Maria.’

But when he’s raining kisses on my neck and whispering my name, that’s the absolute best. It makes my feel like Pysche or something. He says it so softly, like a prayer. It sends shivers up my spine to think about it.

It’s still a dull name whenever anyone else says it. But when Michael says it, it’s like he turns it inside out. He makes it mysterious and elegant all at the same time. He makes me everything that I ever wanted to be.