He looked at the dark, purplish spots on the backs of his hands, and wondered. He looked in the mirror, saw his hair grown thinner and sparser on his head but profuse in his ears and nose and eyebrows. And the skin: Where had the soft, taut skin gone? He saw nothing but sagging flesh, and--yes--his arms and legs now looked like pipe stems, all the beautiful toned muscles gone the way of the firm, smooth skin.
"Well, what can you expect, old man," he said to himself, not noticing that his wife had appeared in the doorway. "After all, you're 85 years old . . . and now closer to 86."
He jumped, a bit startled and thrilled as his wife said in her gentle voice:
"You're not an 'old man', my strapping husband. And I still love you just the way you are."
He turned, took her in his arms--and suddenly felt young and alive and very much in love again.
"Well, what can you expect, old man," he said to himself, not noticing that his wife had appeared in the doorway. "After all, you're 85 years old . . . and now closer to 86."
He jumped, a bit startled and thrilled as his wife said in her gentle voice:
"You're not an 'old man', my strapping husband. And I still love you just the way you are."
He turned, took her in his arms--and suddenly felt young and alive and very much in love again.
