The Woman

I saw the woman sitting at a table
and I felt naturally drawn to sit down
opposite her, but then found myself gazing at
a napkin label such was my embarrassment,
but she just smiled and said hello. I said
hello back and we just talked, and we talked.
We talked for what seemed like a lifetime
until we found ourselves sitting in the dark.
She burst out laughing when we realised, and
I did too. I got up on my own from the table to
go out with my friends, she was with my sister,
they were friends. It was then that I noticed that
the woman’s chair had wheels on it. That’s why
she never got up from the table. I shrugged, said
something like ‘seeya’ and went out with my mates.
The woman and I have chatted many times during the
forty-two years that we’ve been married. I guess that
means we’ve each told the other how much we love them
over fifteen thousand times. We said we would always remind
ourselves every day. I was never more glad of a decision I’ve
made than the day I chose to sit at that table. I was so glad
I made the acquaintance of, and then felt the love of
The Woman.