{"id":16568,"date":"2020-04-01T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-04-01T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sasee.wpenginepowered.com\/?p=16568"},"modified":"2024-03-26T15:08:42","modified_gmt":"2024-03-26T19:08:42","slug":"as-cool-as-can-be","status":"publish","type":"essay","link":"https:\/\/sasee.com\/ro\/essay\/as-cool-as-can-be\/","title":{"rendered":"As Cool as Can Be"},"content":{"rendered":"

I surveyed the area again looking for “cute and old” when I realized “the tell.” We were the only ones doing it \u2013 holding hands.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n

\u201cThey\u2019re so cute. I hope you and I are like that when we get old,\u201d I heard the young woman with a New York accent whisper to her companion. After a brief silence, he laughed and replied, \u201cSure we will.\u201d It was obvious he was into the here-and-now, not thirty years into the future. It didn\u2019t surprise me; it\u2019s more of a female thing to forecast her destiny in a moment of daydreaming clarity.<\/p>\n

I looked around us to see this sweet old couple. There was no one nearby walking the deck of the cruise ship I could apply the conversation to. Suddenly, it occurred to me that the couple might have been talking about us.<\/p>\n

My husband\u2019s grayish white hair framed the red and blue of his Red Sox hat that hid the bald spot smack at the crown of his head. His white, knobby chicken legs, once tanned, hairy and sculpted with thick muscle, stuck out in sharp contrast with his navy blue golf shorts.<\/p>\n

I, on the other hand, had hidden my graying tresses with a youthful L\u2019Oreal Champagne Blonde (shade 8\u00bd A). What was my give away? Maybe, the filmy shawl with the three quarter sleeves covering my summer shift stuck out like medieval armor in a sea of scanty tank tops and short shorts. I surveyed the area again looking for \u201ccute and old\u201d when I realized \u201cthe tell.\u201d We were the only ones doing it \u2013 holding hands. I hadn\u2019t really thought about it. It was something we frequently did when walking together. Secretly, I thought it was romantic, but I was also suspicious that it was my husband\u2019s way of making me walk faster. Weebles popped into my mind \u2013 little round bottomed dolls the kids used to play with. Did we look like Weebles attached together so we didn\u2019t fall down?<\/p>\n

I was miffed. Old? Mature, maybe, but not old. And cute \u2013 like little kids playing grownups! Really? My husband and I had evidently entered the dichotomy zone.<\/p>\n

I watched the couple while they ordered drinks at the bar. They looked to be in their late thirties, still athletic but seasoned. They possessed that controlled freedom that emanates from professional couples with no children. For a moment, I was envious, and then, I couldn\u2019t imagine that kind of life for me.<\/p>\n

I grabbed a froufrou drink and went back to our cabin complete with a balcony to view the ocean, soaring birds and majestic mountains in the distance. But, instead of enjoying the bucket list display, I sat in front of the tiny closet trying to decide what to wear for dinner. What could I do to update our look from old\/cute to experienced\/cool? I pulled out a new bathing suit that I had no intentions of wearing. I had purchased it as a last minute thought for the trip. One must have a bathing suit on a cruise. Knowing that I would never wear it, I had been emboldened to purchase a daring, low cut turquoise and brown number with iron clad support. Silver flecks salted the sleek fabric. It said \u201cparty\u201d or at the very least \u201cI\u2019m not dead, yet.\u201d It could definitely serve the dual purpose as a fancy top paired with my gauzy brown pants. My silvered rimmed turquoise necklace and bangle bracelets would be the perfect finishing touch. I was glad I\u2019d remembered to dig out the metallic sandals for this trip.<\/p>\n

I flipped through my husband\u2019s slacks finding his newest dress pair. Not comfortable enough for golf, they were perfect for a night out on the town (boat). I selected one of his few shirts with no golf course insignia and placed them out on the bed alongside his jacket. He wouldn\u2019t notice the significance of my choices. He would be happy to wear clean jeans and a sports shirt every day and submitted to whatever I picked out for special occasions.<\/p>\n

Dressed and ready to reveal the \u201cinner\u201d me, I sat outside on the balcony chair. The cool breeze felt wonderful against my neck and bare arms (a rare and daring sensation). I laughed at the foolishness I\u2019d obsessed over for the past hour. Silly, but in the end, a little spice wouldn\u2019t hurt anything. Maybe it was a good thing to see yourself as others do. I could go back to my comfortable clothes tomorrow; tonight I was the me of my thirties \u2013 okay \u2013forties.<\/p>\n

Familiar voices drifted up carried by the slight wind. I strained to see the deck. The couple from New York stood next to the railing not moving, seeming to enjoy the majestic scene in front of them. Good for them, I thought feeling magnanimous. At that very moment, they turned to face opposite directions. Their cell phones were glued to their ears. They both took steps in the opposite direction, laughing into their phones, more animated than I\u2019d seen them all afternoon.<\/p>\n

Ha! I thought wickedly. They will never be \u201ccute!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHey,\u201d my husband said stepping out of the room dressed and shaven. My heart skipped a little as I looked at my handsome husband in his dinner attire. He whistled when he saw the silver flecks dancing around my low cut neckline. He held out his hand to take mine. I took it and held on tight.We were almost out the door when I hesitated. I reached back into the room and grabbed the filmy shawl off the hook. I put it over my arms and tied it with a flourish in front of the deep V.<\/p>\n

Yeah, we\u2019re bad; we\u2019re cool. Well . . . almost.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I surveyed the area again looking for “cute and old” when I realized “the tell.” We were the only ones doing it \u2013 holding hands. \u201cThey\u2019re so cute. I hope […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_tec_requires_first_save":true,"_gspb_post_css":"","rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_tribe_blocks_recurrence_rules":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_description":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_exclusions":"","footnotes":""},"essay_type":[46],"essay-category":[],"class_list":["post-16568","essay","type-essay","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","essay_type-features"],"blocksy_meta":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sasee.com\/ro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/essay\/16568","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sasee.com\/ro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/essay"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sasee.com\/ro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/essay"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sasee.com\/ro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sasee.com\/ro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16568"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sasee.com\/ro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/essay\/16568\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sasee.com\/ro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16568"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"essay_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sasee.com\/ro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/essay_type?post=16568"},{"taxonomy":"essay-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sasee.com\/ro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/essay-category?post=16568"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}