Pure Love

I went to lunch a few weeks ago, alone. I was sitting, waiting for my car to be returned to me. A man sitting across from me asked what the date was. I told him it was the 10th. He was distraught. He said he had missed some sort of appointment. A slip had fallen under his car seat, and he had just found it. The appointment was for the 9th. I told him that he should probably call whoever the appointment was with. I resumed my idling for another while, just thinking. Then he came over and began to talk to me.

I don't know how, but he began to tell me about his wife. They had been married since 1964. He was such a sweet man. You can tell that he was completely in love with this woman. He told me that he met her two weeks after moving to L.A. He said he saw her every day and finally, after his friend told him to stop being such a chicken, he asked her for a date. She agreed and they were together for two and a half years. She asked him when they were getting married. All the woman at her workplace had gotten married since they met. She was the only single one. A few days before Christmas, he proposed to her. They got married that spring. They have four children (three girls and a boy) who are all grown up now. His son is in his early fourties now. The man wishes his son would settle down. He never liked the idea of being with a lot of women. Why would he when he already has the best one out there? He has six beautiful grandchildren. Now that he's retired, he thought that his life would be much simpler. On the contrary; he is now a babysitter, a chaufer, and who knows what else. Still, he doesn't mind. He loves being with his family.

I was just sitting there, listening to his story, and the sincerity in his voice. He was truely a happy man. They called me to my car, and I told him that it was a pleasure to meet him. He introduced himself, Gabriel, and I introduced myself. I walked into my car, tipped the guy, and got inside. Gabriel knocked on my window. I rolled it down (which I shouldn't have done, because they just cleaned it and now it would be streaky). He asked (in Spanish) why I hadn't told him I spoke Spanish. When I introduced myself, I said it in Spanish. I just told him that I didn't want to interrupt him. He spoke English very well. He told me that he actually took classes around L.A. and learned English, but I shouldn't have let him struggle like that. I just told him that he spoke it very well. He smiled, and waved his hand to dismiss me. I smiled and went on my merry way.

I hope I have that one day.