My husband, Jack, and I walked through the flower filled and tiled courtyard to the outside dining room. We smiled at each other as we smelled the inn’s famous cheese tortillas being prepared for breakfast. Mexican leather chairs surrounded tables covered with red, green, and yellow flower printed oil cloth. One large table in the center was set for the six guests that were here this weekend. It was August and not too many people came at this time of year, but we were celebrating our 5th anniversary in this ancient, Mexican Colonial town of San Miguel de Allende which we had first happily explored on our honeymoon.
We had been told the other guests were a young honeymoon couple and a much older couple. The younger guests hadn’t shown for breakfast yet, which was not surprising. The older couple were already starting in on their fresh-squeezed orange juice and flavorful Mexican coffee. They seemed to be in their 70s, well dressed, and both wearing glasses which made their eyes look enormous.
“Hi, I’m Jack.” My husband reached out to shake their hands. “And this is my wife, Pat.”
The older man stood, smiled and said, “I’m Tom and my beautiful bride is Andrea. We’re here to visit this charming little town on a belated honeymoon.”
Andrea, her blue eyes sparkling, cut in to add, “We’ve only been married for 3 months.”
Tom explained, “We have lots of friends here even though this is our first trip. People we knew up in the Bay area of California are now living down here full-time.”Andrea chimed in, “Yes, they like the low prices. But I’m not so sure the quality of things down here is good enough.”
“Now, now, Andrea, we can’t expect everything to be like it is at home.” Tom patted her arm. She pulled it away angrily. “Don’t patronize me, you old fool.” He flinched and muttered something under his breath.
Oh, Oh, I thought to myself. It doesn’t look like this honeymoon is boding well for the longevity of this marriage. The other couple, Kyle and Kay, made their appearance looking tired, but smiling delightedly at each other. I hoped they would give Tom and Andrea a good example. The older couple did stop squabbling at breakfast, and being agreeable, we all planned to meet at a well-known and inexpensive restaurant for dinner.
That day Jack and I had a great time walking over the narrow, cobble stoned streets. There seemed to be an old stone angel set into a building niche at every corner intersection and I prayed that they would look over us during this trip, and also over the other couples at the inn. Viewing the town again brought back wonderful memories, and after a quick trip to our room to rest and refresh ourselves, we were looking forward to the evening get-together.
As soon as we got to O'Leary’s Irish Pub—yes it is owned by two Irish brothers who immigrated to Mexico about 20 years ago—we could hear Tom and Andrea fussing at each other. Andrea had picked a table back near the wall, while Tom had wanted a table further in. He said her choice was near the bathrooms and would smell. She said his was too close to the stage and would be noisy.
Jack laughed and said, “Come on you guys. Let’s compromise and sit in the middle.” So we did and then we found out that the younger honeymoon couple had decided not to meet with us. Tom said that Kyle had picked up a stomach bug and he and Kay were staying at the inn for the evening.
I thought to myself, I guess they had enough of Tom and Andrea’s squabbling and didn’t want it to spoil their enjoyment of this once in a lifetime trip. After all you only have one honeymoon—although I guess with today’s divorce statistics I should say you only have one ‘first’ honeymoon.
In spite of Tom and Andrea’s fussing with each other, Jack and I had a good time. The older couple actually was very interesting. He was a retired podiatrist and she a retired librarian and they told lots of funny stories about the patients and patrons they had met during their careers. He explained that he first saw her when she was volunteering at her library. He was trying to find a book on sailing, which he was thinking about taking up in his retirement. Andrea was very helpful with pointing him towards appropriate books, but as they talked he lost interest in sailing and became more interested in her. As he finished this charming story, they smiled at each other and I thought, Good. Now maybe we can have some peace and quiet with them.
But it was not to be. When we left the restaurant it had started raining and they both berated each other for forgetting their umbrella. I always carried one of those ugly plastic hoods and offered it to Andrea, but she refused and said Tom would just have to look at her tonight looking like a drowned rat.
Back at the inn, Jack and I crept quietly to our room and collapsed on our bed. “What a night. I can’t figure out what’s wrong with those two,” Jack groaned.
“I know. If this is their honeymoon, what will the marriage be like?” I quickly pulled off my clothes and got into the new, lacy nightgown I had bought for the trip. Jack put his arms around me, hugging me gently, murmuring, “It’s for sure they’re not going to have one like us.”
The next morning at breakfast they were still arguing about the missing umbrella and the table choices. I couldn’t believe it. Tom kept trying to shush her and she kept saying she would not be shushed.
I laughed and trying to make a joke out of it said, “Andrea, if you don’t get off this subject, I’m gong to bop you one.” I don’t know if she believed me or was just shocked by what I said but she did start talking about how good the breakfast was.
We begged off getting together for dinner with them, but as luck would have it we did see them again during the day. The American ex-patriots run a wonderful bi-lingual library which has a pleasant courtyard café with several trees shading the tables and chairs. We remembered it as a delightful place for an afternoon pick me up, and I guess Tom and Andrea had found out about it, too.
They waved us over to join them and we did reluctantly. But they seemed on their best behavior, telling funny stories and patting each other hands. Until they got up to leave and Andrea objected to the size of the tip Tom was leaving, complaining, “Do you think we’re made of money?”
He said abruptly, “Don’t worry about it. You certainly didn’t worry about it when you bought that expensive silver necklace today.” And they were off and running. Fortunately, they kept on walking out of the café as they continued wrangling.
We were left in blissful peace. Jack commented, “Well, we don’t have to spend any more time with them than we have to. It’s too bad because they can be interesting and even nice, but sometimes it’s like striking a match in a gas filled room.”
The inn was buzzing when we got back from our long walk. Staff members were bustling in and out of Tom and Andrea’s room. We were curious but thought we’d just let it go and went directly to our room. While we were reading over a list of possible restaurants for that night’s dinner, there was a knock on our door. It was Tom. He seemed upset.
“You probably wondered what all the commotion was about. Andrea wasn’t paying attention and she was knocked down by a bus turning one of those narrow, sharp corners.”
“Oh my gosh,” I exclaimed. “Was she run over?”
“No, thank God. She’s just a little bruised and shaken up. She’s resting now. I just felt I had to talk to someone about this. I hope you don’t mind listening to me.”
“Of course we don’t. Come on in.” And then we learned one of the reasons for their strange relationship.
Tom explained, “I just don’t know what I’d do if I lost Andrea. I know it sounds like we quarrel a lot, but we’ve really been married for 50 years. This trip is to celebrate our 50th anniversary. But we thought it would sound more romantic if we made up that story about being honeymooners. How we met is the truth but it was more than 50 years ago and I wasn’t thinking about retiring—just looking for a possible hobby. We’ve really had a great life together but lately Andrea’s personality started changing and her doctor told me privately that she was in an early stage of Alzheimer’s. I was devastated of course, but I decided not to let her know it until she had to. So we’ve been muddling along the best we can. It breaks my heart but after 50 years, she is my heart.”
After that long speech, he just started crying. Jack and I just looked at each other. We hadn’t even thought of that as a reason for her behavior.
I asked, “Would it be all right if I just stepped in to see how she is and if she needs anything?” I could tell he was exhausted and needed a break.
Jerry said, “Yes, yes. Go on in. If she’s not asleep I’m sure she’d like some company.”
When I quietly slipped into their room, I knew she was awake as her bright, blue eyes were looking at me. It was hard to believe that this alert woman was slowly losing her mind. What a waste.
“Hi Pat, I guess Tom told you what happened. Those buses-- they just aren’t careful enough, but I guess I wasn’t paying attention either.”
I sat on the chair next to her. “How are you doing?” I asked.
“Oh, I’m fine. I think Tom’s more upset than I am. But then, as you probably noticed, he takes things very seriously these days. I have to admit that we told you a little fib. He thought it would be more romantic if we pretended to be honeymooners—more interesting he said. But we’ve really been married 50 years and he has been my sweetheart every day of that time. I don’t think I could go on without him. He is the love of my life. But I noticed that he started getting upset with me a lot, so when he had his last check-up I talked privately with the doctor. I thought I would faint when I found out Tom is in the early stages of Alzheimer. I was devastated but I vowed to keep on with our lives as long as possible, keeping the truth from him until he had to know. You just don’t give up on 50 years of love and devotion.”
And that’s what I call a miracle. In this age of throw-away marriages, there still exists the miracle of love.
The End
This is so beautiful Amy. I almost cried. Thanks for sharing it!
ReplyDeleteAmy
ReplyDeleteYou hooked me from the start and I shared this with my CNA daughter !