I COULD START this story with the day Mike got down on one knee at the dinner table to propose marriage and then, thanks to his arthritis, couldn't get up without help.
Or the day he said, "We're going to piss off some people, whatever we do.
Why not elope?" But really, we go further back-47 years, in fact. Mike and I got to know each other in our first year studying commerce at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario. He was a cool guy, and we both loved sailing and playing tennis. But I was engaged to someone else, so we stayed friends.
Life moved on.
My beloved husband Dave had died of cancer a year before the pandemic. Mike's marriage had recently ended in divorce. During the bitter loneliness that came with living alone through the lockdowns, he found me on Facebook and we started talking. Long story short, he arrived at my house in Burlington with flowers and an overnight satchel, and we spent the rest of lockdown together, catching up on 40 years.
A little over a year after he first showed up on my doorstep, Mike proposed. And then we had some decisions to make.
Public gatherings at the time were limited to just 10 people. Our adult kids and their families added up to more than that, not to mention our best friends and our siblings. How could we choose which ones to include in the wedding?
That is when Mike suggested a wacky idea: We should elope.
Who elopes at 65? I thought. Isn't that a thing done by people much younger than we are?
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
From the King's Table to Street Food: A Food History of Delhi
Pushpesh Pant, one of India’s pre-eminent food writers, is back with a comprehensive food history of the capital.
Who Wants Coffee?
It’s bitter—but beloved around the world
Prevent The Pain Of Shingles
You don't have to suffer, as long as you take two important steps
The Best And Worst Diets For Your Heart
Dozens of diets are touted as ‘best’, but it’s easy to lose track of the fact that healthy eating needs to be about overall wellness, not just weight loss.
ME & MY SHELF
Journalist Sopan Joshi has worked in a science and environment framework for nearly three decades. His book Mangifera indica: A Biography of the Mango (Aleph Book Company) synthesizes the sensory appeal of India's favourite fruit with its elaborate cultural roots and natural history. He writes in English and Hindi.
SWITCHED
In 1962, nurses at a small Canadian hospital sent home two women with the wrong babies. Then, 50 years later, their children discovered the shocking mistake.
ECHOES OF THE PAST
A VISIT TO THE ANCIENT BARABAR CAVES IN BIHAR REVEALS A SURPRISING CONNECTION TO A LITERARY CLASSIC
Fathers of the Bride
A young woman finds a unique way to honour the many men who helped her survive her childhood
Fiction's Foresight
British-Bangladeshi author Manzu Islam's works reveal startling parallels to recent political upheavals in Bangladesh, begging the question: Besides helping us make sense of our world, can stories also offer a glimpse into the future?
It Happens ONLY IN INDIA
The Divine Defence Picture this: A tractor in Rajasthan‘s Banswara district,a group of loan agents closing in to seize it and the defaulting farmer and his family standing by.
