Marriage

---

Patiently waiting in the car for my daughter to come out of the store, my thoughts were finally clear of you for the first time in weeks. I saw their shadows move across the parking lot before they passed my driver's door. It was an elderly couple, probably in their seventies.
The woman seemed strong, in very good health for a woman of her age. But the man carried an aura of fragility. I noticed upon their passing that the man held a hand across the woman's lower back. That hand never moved as I watched them walk slowly across the remainder of the parking lot to the store's entrance. Finally, he removed the hand on her back only to use both hands in order to pull open the heavy door for the woman to pass through.
Still, you'd not crossed my mind. I concentrated on making myself a "to do" list, checked my gas gauge, and combed my hair to stay busy while I waited. I was still sitting there when the old couple came out of the store. I thought I might tell my daughter how slow she was when she came out. But my eyes were fixated on the fragile old man.
He came out of the door first and held it open for the woman. He carried a small bag in one hand and placed the other, again, across the woman's lower back. They walked silently and seemingly content beside my car again. I quickly found them through the rearview mirror. They made their way to the passenger side of a burgundy colored van. The man unlocked the door and waited there while the woman crawled in the seat.
I thought that would be the end of his sweet gestures and wondered how long this old couple had been together. But I watched him reach over her, grab her seat belt and hand it to her. He reached into the back-seat for a small pillow and placed it in her lap. Before leaving her for the driver's side, he locked her door.
Perhaps they'd been together a year, perhaps fifty years. They drove away and I laid my head back on the seat. I spoke to you there. "I used to dream of growing old with someone. Would you cherish me like that? If you wouldn't, then it doesn't matter anymore that you don't notice me. I can be lonely alone. I don't need anyone to help me with that. Tell me, when the fire burns out, what's left? Would it just be cold or would there be genuine love and concern?"
With my daughter opening the car door, I was jolted back into reality. She asked me if there was something wrong. I told her about the elderly people and she responded with a simple, "Awe, that's too sweet." She doesn't have a clue as to how I feel, about how much I want that kind of love in my life. I didn't attempt to tell her anything except that she was awfully slow shopping.
© Joyce Pool

---

PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BELOW LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE