This past weekend, we attended a dinner party hosted by an old friend and her husband. I had not seen her in years although we have kept in touch via email. We had not seen some of the guests in quite a while either.
One couple announced that they were now 82 years old, an Englishman married to a German woman. He had forgotten how he had met me almost 30 years ago. I couldn't remember either. He showed me photos of their 60th wedding anniversary celebration, two years ago. I remembered he always kept photos in his pocket.
His wife was beautifully dressed as always, slim and chique in a red designer suit complete with taupe coloured, leopard print, high heeled pumps. She told me they had a new deck built behind their house over the summer. Her husband had painted it sage green, with a small brush that he preferred to use. The colour sounded so unusually pretty. She told me her passion has always been fine clothes and shoes. The only problem is closet space. They were never able to have kids so it is just the two of them. Both have things they enjoy doing on their own. For example, the husband still plays the penny stocks on the stock market although they don't own a computer. They have a lot of older friends that are alone for one reason or another.
There was another couple M and I met for the first time, a retired diplomat and his elegant wife. They are my friend's neighbours in the condominium complex. Being a diplomat they had lived all over the world and the wife had never learned to cook because all their meals were provided for. He speaks 6 different languages. They have grown children and in fact, grandchildren in university. The wife looked much younger than her husband although there was just a 5 years difference. Perhaps because she never had to cook all her life? Lol.
My friend's (our hostess') husband had recently turned 70. I inquired about his son and daughter from a previous marriage. He mentioned that his daughter had ended up adopting a child within Canada after five unsuccessful in-vitro attempts. It turns out both parents had fertility problems. The child is now a wonderful 5 year old who actually looks like them.
Another lady had had two hip replacements, but I wouldn't have known, she was walking so well. There was a woman we knew about my age who was dressed kind of flamboyantly like Liza Minelli. She was telling jokes to some of the men. Her husband had been unable to attend.
Eventually, after eating some delicious desserts, it was time for everyone to leave. The years do fly by, and it was good to catch up with old friends and acquaintances.
