It's Been a Long Time - 1. Chapter 1 It's Been a Long Time

“I can’t believe its 2053 already,” my husband said after we were seated at the restaurant. “Happy Anniversary, Sweetheart.”

“Yes, the years have flown by, but what I can’t believe is that we’ve been together for fifty years. It’s funny, because I don’t feel old enough to have been with you for that long.”

“But this is only our 36^th anniversary.”

“You forget that we were together for twelve years before gay marriage was legal, and then we waited another two years before we got married. It was because your dad was dying of cancer at the time and couldn’t get around very well, and you knew he would try to attend our wedding even if it might endanger his life. We were hoping he might go into remission, seeing he was undergoing radiation treatments and chemotherapy, or possibly researchers would come up with a cure, since they’d been making progress on so many other diseases.”

“Yes, he was having a difficult time as he went through radiation and chemo, and it was just as hard on my mom, because she had to take care of him. I hated to see him die, especially since he’d been so supportive of our relationship when a lot of other gays weren’t as fortunate, but it was almost a relief when he passed away. That’s because I knew he was no longer suffering and finally out of pain, and it also took all that responsibility off of my mom.”

“Yes, it was a difficult time, but at least we gave her something she could smile about when we got married.”

“Yes, that day was the first time I’d seen her smile in a long while, even though her smile might have been a little forced. I believe she was thinking of what it might have been like if my dad was there to celebrate with us.”

“Do you remember when we first met?”

“Yes, we were in college at the time.”

“But do you remember how it happened?”

“I think someone introduced us, but I’ll be damned if I can recall who it was. You know my memory isn’t what it used to be.”

“Yes, that’s quite obvious, because it was one of your friends that set us up on a blind date.”

“That’s right, and then we started seeing each other on a regular basis. We were even able to get summer jobs either on or near the campus that year, so we also agreed to rent an apartment together. We continued to live there during our senior year as well, rather than go back to living in the dorms.”

“And we’ve been living together ever since,” I agreed. “We even looked for jobs in the same city precisely so we could continue being together.”

“Yes, and we wouldn’t have to travel to see each other. And since we’d be living in the same city, it made sense to only pay for one apartment, because we’d be spending so much time together anyway.”

“And the fringe benefits weren’t so bad either.”

“No, they weren’t, but there was no way we could get married back then, not even in a civil ceremony, so having a friend with benefits was the best we could do. It wasn’t just that either, because we were committed to each other and never wandered, even after we had one of our little spats.”

“Oh, I remember a few that weren’t so little, but we always worked through our problems.”

“Yes, one of us always gave so things would go back to normal.”

“Yes, and afterward we would have make-up sex.”

“Yes, and most of the time the make-up sex was incredible.”

“And sometimes I thought you started those disagreements just so we could have make-up sex,” I teased.

“I didn’t start all of the arguments, and we had plenty of sex even when we didn’t argue first.”

“I know, but for some reason the sex always seemed more incredible when we were making up. It was like it released the animal in you.”

“Ok, maybe it did. We usually didn’t have sex while we were fighting, so it was like leading a thirsty horse to water. Sometimes the horse just couldn’t get enough.”

“Yes, I would say that was an apt description for you.” He laughed.

“Ok, maybe I could be a horn dog at times, but I loved it just as much, or possibly even more, when we merely kissed, cuddled, and held hands.”

“Yes, I always enjoyed the times when we were intimate as much or even more than when we were having sex, but most of all I loved being with you. I still owe your friend that set us up on the blind date, because he did me a huge favor. I would never have found someone I love as much as I love you.”

“He did both of us a huge favor and I could never have loved anyone else as much as I love you either. I just wish I could remember who arranged that blind date for us.”

“I do too, because I’d like to thank him in person.”

“Yes, that would be a good idea, if my mind wasn’t so full of holes, like a wheel of Swiss cheese.”

“My memory isn’t quite as bad as yours, but I know what you mean. Occasionally I will find myself looking in the refrigerator and have no idea what I was looking for. At other times I find myself standing in a room and unable to remember if I was just coming into the room or just getting ready to leave. I guess it’s one of those senior discounts – our brains now come with a 5% discount or more.”

“I guess that’s one way of looking at it, but at least we don’t need any of those little blue or yellow pills – well at least not yet.”

“Yes, I guess maybe it is a fair tradeoff. Not being able to remember details or having to make a few extra trips to the bathroom are worth not having E.D. or full-blown dementia. The only thing I don’t ever want to forget is you and all the great times we’ve had together.”

“I can’t think of anything worse than not being able to remember the wonderful life we’ve shared.”

“I think I’d rather be dead than to have that happen to me. I’ve heard about people that can no longer recognize their spouse or their children, and in that case I’d rather be dead.”

“As far as I’m concerned, that’s another form of death, because I can’t think of anything worse either.”

“So, what do you want to do when we get home?”

“We could sit on the couch and cuddle as we watch a movie.”

“Or we can play some slow, romantic songs on the computer that we can dance to.”

“Or we can cuddle as we watch a movie, and then slow dance after that, before going up to our bedroom and making love.”

“I like your last idea best, and I think you’ve just come up with the perfect anniversary gift that we can give to each other.”

“Then let’s plan on doing it on every anniversary from now on.”

“Or we can set up a regular date night each week and do it then as well.”

“Agreed, because why should we wait an entire year when we can do it once a week.”

“Or we can do it more often than that, if it’s what we choose to do.”

“Then I guess we’d better renew some of our apps so we don’t run out of movies to watch.”

“I’ll set them up on auto-pay so we don’t have to worry about it,” I offered.

“You know, I remember that my paternal great-grandparents were married for sixty years before they died. And as a kid, I always wondered how someone could be with another person for that long without having any major disagreements or get tired of being with each other. And then when my great grandfather died, my great grandmother was inconsolable, and two days later she died as well. I guess their love was so strong that not even death could part them for very long.”

“Oh, that’s so tragic, yet so sweet.”

“Somehow, I wonder if the same will be true for us. My parents were together for nearly fifty years before my dad died, and even though my mom didn’t die shortly after he did, she was never the same. She seemed to have to force herself to look happy after that, and on occasion I would catch her carrying on a conversation with my dad, even though he’d been dead for a number of years. I’ll always remember what she told me a short time before she died. She said she wasn’t afraid of death, because she’d get to be with my dad again. Now that’s love.”

“It is, and I know we share the same kind of love for each other.”

He’s right, and I believe my husband and I share the same type of love. We’ve had many wonderful years together and celebrated many memorable anniversaries before this one, but I think this is the one I’ll remember until the day I die. Other than going out for dinner at a crowded restaurant, there weren’t any friends or family throwing us a party and making us share our special day with them. We merely spent the entire evening alone and it was absolutely wonderful, just as our life together and our marriage has been. If there’s an afterlife, I hope we get to be together again.

“Happy Anniversary, Babe,” I whispered as I placed an arm over my sleeping husband’s body and gave him a gentle squeeze. “I love you, and I always will.”

THE END.