ADVERTISEMENT
It started with a watermelon.
I met Richard in the parking lot outside the grocery store. I was juggling three bags and a watermelon when he stepped in and said, “Want me to rescue that melon before it makes a break for it?”
He had laugh lines, soft eyes, and a calmness that made me feel like I’d stepped into sunlight. He was a widower, he said.
We ended up chatting right there for half an hour. The breeze picked up, my bread nearly flew out of the bag, and we laughed like two people who hadn’t laughed in a long time.
I told him I hadn’t been on a date in over 30 years. He told me he still cooked Sunday breakfasts for one and kept setting out two cups of coffee out of habit.
Continue reading…
ADVERTISEMENT