Usually, I love nothing better than to walk into Panera, find a corner with access to a plug, and settle in for intense work or study. This morning, however, finds me without my headphones, and better yet, with no pressing homework to be done. So this morning, I fearlessly picked a window table (with a plug), ordered a panini (bless those Italians!) and proceeded to catch up on my current events to the tune of Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto no. 3. (one that I’ve played one too many times!) A few minutes after I’d settled in, an elderly couple – at least in their upper-sixties – casually strolled in sweat-suits and walking shoes.
I love to people-watch, and this couple had my attention from minute one. They were more than “grandpa and grandma;” had they been quite a bit younger, I would have said they were honey-mooning. Who knows, perhaps they were? Something tells me though, that this was just who they are. At any rate, they slowly walked up to the counter, holding hands, and he ordered the coffee for both of them after she whispered in his ear what she wanted.
Coincidentally, they took the table opposite mine, and the Wall Street Journal suddenly failed to hold my full attention, despite the stories on the PA primary. Most older couples I’ve seen are pretty quiet when it’s just the two of them; not these two! They sipped their coffee, smiled and chatted with each other – at one point they held hands across the table. Eventually they got ready to leave, and he stood first to pull her chair out for her and help her stand. After she deposited their coffee cups in the dish bin, they exited with his arm securely around her waist and drove off into another adventure.
Love’s not Time’s fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle’s compass come:
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
