Lovebirds
The small coffee shop was not crowded at two o’clock on a warm
September afternoon. School was still in
session so the teenage crowd had not yet arrived for wild concoctions of mocha,
choi, soy, whipped cream and who knows what else. Customers in the shop were
mostly older, sipping simpler drinks, and enjoying their newspapers or just
chatting quietly.
It was a convenient time and place for me to prepare for an
appointment with a client later in the day. I was fortunate to be able to
secure my favorite spot in this particular shop, sitting with my back to the
far corner where I could work undisturbed but where I could also observe what
was happening in the shop whenever I wanted to take a break.
After a few minutes, I noticed an older couple entering. They looked
to be in their mid-seventies and at first glance, appeared to be in good shape
for their age. Both were tall and trim and stood straight without a problem. Her
blue blouse and white slacks were neatly pressed and a white sweater was draped
about her shoulders with the sleeves tied in a loose knot in front. Her white
hair was simply styled and held in place with a simple barrette that matched
her eyeglasses. He wore an oxford cloth shirt and tan Bermuda shorts, both crisply
pressed, a golfer’s cap and running shoes with white socks.
My eyes were attracted to them because the woman seemed to be having a
bit of difficulty moving. It looked as if she could walk just fine but she just
didn’t seem to know where to go. The man nudged her along gently toward a
vacant table where they stopped. The man pulled a chair back and, by gently
holding both her upper arms, guided her to a standing position just in front of
the chair. Next, with one hand he gently pushed down on her shoulder while
tapping the back of one knee with his other hand. She sat slowly.
Two other chairs were pushed up to the table and she was having
trouble positioning her feet among all the chair legs. The man rearranged the
chairs and positioned her feet in a natural stance. He sat in one of the other chairs
and noticed that her barrette was in disarray. He removed it and with both
hands, smoothed her hair over her ears and toward her back. Then, he placed the
barrette back onto her head in the correct position. She didn’t move and offered
no resistance to his actions. He stared at her face for a moment, then stood up
and walked toward the restroom.
While he was gone, shop staff members spoke to the woman as though
they knew her. She looked at them and smiled faintly in return but did not say
anything. She turned her head to look around the shop with a somewhat confused
look. I wondered if she was looking for the man. She looked in my direction,
not at me specifically, just at space, I think. I got the impression that in
her youth, she would have been quite attractive. Although she obviously had
issues now, her graceful bearing was still evident.
The man returned with some damp paper towels and dabbed around the
corners of her mouth, then walked to the counter and purchased what appeared to
be yogurt and granola. He returned to the table, opened the yogurt and mixed
the granola with it. He took the woman’s hand and placed a spoon in it while
sliding the yogurt toward her. I again sensed that she was physically capable
of doing something but could not figure out how. The man guided her spoon into
the yogurt, then to her mouth. At this point, she understood what to do and
began eating.
While she ate, the man spoke with another man sitting at the adjacent
table. Evidently they knew each other and I picked up bits of their
conversation regarding medications and treatments. They chatted quietly while
the woman ate. She paused from time to time and her companion would nudge her
spoon to the appropriate spot to help her get started again. After a while, she
placed the spoon on the table and the man wiped her mouth again with the paper
towels. He continued to chat with the other man while he placed one of her
hands atop the other, then placed one of his own hands atop hers. She didn’t
pay much attention to either of the men but glanced around the room, looking
not only at the people in the room but also the ceiling, the displays and
vacant tables.
They were such a handsome couple that I wondered what they had been
like forty or fifty years ago. Was one of them, or maybe both, a professional
of some type? Did they have children? Had they traveled widely? What did they
do for fun?
Was I was looking at a snapshot of my spouse and me forty years from
now? Would one of us be caring for the other like this? Would the issues so
important to us today all have given way to simpler tasks? Would there be
strong enough bonds to keep us tightly coupled even when one of us was not
fully there?
After about ten minutes, the man stood and pulled her chair away from the
table. He took both of her hands in his and helped her to a standing position.
With his left hand holding hers and his right hand at the small of her back, he
encouraged her toward the door. He paused to say goodbye to the other man and
to the shop staff, then they moved to the door. He positioned his right arm
more firmly around her waist and held the door open with his left hand. Once
outside, he grasped her left hand with his right and they walked to their car.
He opened her door and with nudges at various parts of her side, hip
and legs, positioned her in her seat and reached across her to buckle her seat
belt. Once positioned in his own seat,
he leaned across and kissed her on the cheek. Then they slowly exited the
parking lot and drove away.
© 2015 Jim Stringer
