It was difficult to not stare.
He and she,
sitting across from each other at the restaurant table.
She looking straight ahead, but eyes focused to his left and beyond him.
He looking straight ahead, but eyes focused to her left and beyond her.
It was as though they were complete strangers.
alone together
She and he
both looked to be in their sixties.
He looked rugged, like a cowboy, the Marlboro Man personified.
She was impeccably dressed, her hair and make-up perfectly arranged, as though she never had a bad hair day.
Their matching wedding rings told me that they were together,
though alone in that togetherness.
alone together
I have been noticing,
no studying,
couples who would appear to be in the next phase of life from where I am,
from where hubby and I are currently.
When I see a couple who look to be of the age of empty-nesters,
I have to work hard to not stare.
You see I am studying with purpose,
because in the blink of an eye I, we will be there,
and I need to have an idea of what is to come,
of what I need to prepare for,
of where to set our plum line for the future to come.
And, what I saw in that restaurant,
in the staring off glances of the Marlboro man and his impeccably dressed Mrs,
was a couple who was
alone together.
Sure they shared a table, and he paid the bill, but that is where their ‘together’ ended.
I’ve been thinking about them ever since, wondering what they looked like sitting at a restaurant table when
they had teenagers with them,
or chatty kids,
or tough to sit still preschoolers.
Did they have something to talk about when they were
celebrating a birthday,
an anniversary,
or after just finding out that they would be parents in a few months?
Did they look off into the distance when they were
first married,
or dating?
When did together start to be alone? When did alone accompany them together?
More importantly,
how do those of us, not yet there, prevent being
alone together
in our futures?
itsawonderfilledlife 