Love Stories

A beautiful thing happened. I was in Cape Ann Coffee, my favorite little coffee shop, having coffee and proofreading something. A woman came in to get coffee and smiled at me. It was one of those smiles that says, do you remember me? no, you probably don’t...

When she sat at a nearby table I said hello and we started talking. She was older than I am and had that tired look of someone who has gone through a lot. She said, "I’m so glad I ran into you. I’ve been wanting to tell you how much I love your book. Thank you for giving it to me." Then I remembered her. She’s a friend of a friend who had just lost her husband at the time we met. They had been married for close to fifty years when and he had died after a long, difficult illness. She had cared for him every minute of it. Feeling sorry and helpless as one always does in such circumstances, I did the only thing I could. I gave her a copy of My Last Romance and other passions which had just come off the press.

"I love that books," she told me. "It’s so rich but the thing I love about it is that so many of the people in it are older. It’s so refreshing to read about older people who really love each other. My husband and I were like that. I read your stories and I think about how it was for us. I really appreciate that."

She appreciates that? How could I begin to say how much I appreciate what she just said? What on earth could be a greater gift? We talked for a little while, she told me she especially loved Flynnie in "Flynnie and Babe". It’s so amazing the stories that people chose to love.

On Sunday my friend Lynn Loscutoff came to Cruiseport and she bought a copy of my book. Later she called me and said she loved it — that the stories of older people as lovers just thrilled her and made her think of how much she still loves her husband even after all these many years. How can you get better reviews than those?

And I thought a lot about older lovers I have known and two wonderful stories stand out in my mind. Both concern aunts and uncles — my father’s brother Tom and his sister Helen.

Uncle Tommy married Aunt Mary Rita late in life. She was over fifty and they have been together for over 30 years now. They are the dearest couple. They give me hope. Now he is stooped over and grey and she is in a wheelchair but they are still in love. One time a few years ago when I was visiting them Uncle Tommy said to me, "You should taste the delicious tomato relish your Aunt Mary Rita made this summer." And Aunt Mary Rita replied, "I couldn’t have done it without the beautiful tomatoes your Uncle Tommy grew."

That’s love.

But the sweetest story is about Aunt Helen and Uncle Gus. Aunt Helen was always a beautiful woman and Uncle Gus was a big, strong, strapping guy who ran a beer distributorship and carried barrels of beer around on his shoulders. After 60+ years of marriage Aunt Helen was dying of cancer when I visited her in the hospital. She was a tiny, shriveled up little woman whose poor little body was just worn out. Her hair was gone from chemo and her limbs were so frail and shriveled they couldn’t even find veins anymore. Uncle Gus sat in her room every minute. As I was leaving I kissed her goodbye and Uncle Gus walked me out to the hall. He gave me a kiss and said he knew it wouldn’t be long now. He turned back to the room and looked at her and sighed and said, "Doesn’t she have the most beautiful eyes you’ve ever seen?"

Her eyes were beautiful —especially when she looked at him.

Thanks for reading.