At 67, I Took My First Vacation Abroad and Promised Myself I’d Say “Yes” to Everything.
Hidden behind a stone archway, I carefully peeked into the courtyard.
David stood with a younger man in a navy suit.
Neither of them had noticed me.
The younger man looked worried.
“You can’t keep doing this, David,” he said.
“You become attached every time.”
David sighed.
“I know.”
“You promised Mom.”
My heart skipped.
Mom?
The younger man rubbed his forehead.
“The doctors said your memory is getting worse.”
“You already forgot this restaurant was one of your favorites.”
“You told her it was your first visit.”
David looked embarrassed.
“I honestly believed it was.”
Silence settled over the courtyard.
The younger man lowered his voice.
“You don’t have much time before the disease progresses.”
“You can’t keep pretending everything is normal.”
I felt my knees weaken.
Disease?
What disease?
David stared toward the harbor.
“I know exactly how much time I have.”
“That’s why I wanted one perfect week.”
The younger man looked away.
“You’ve spent three years refusing to travel.”
“Refusing to meet anyone.”
“And now…”
He smiled softly.
“You finally smiled again.”
David laughed quietly.
“Because she reminded me how to live.”
I felt tears filling my eyes.
There had been no affair.
No deception.
Only a frightened man trying to enjoy what might be one of the last periods of his life before Alzheimer’s slowly stole his memories.
I accidentally stepped on a loose stone.
Both men turned.
David’s face immediately fell.
“You heard…”
I nodded.
He slowly walked toward me.
“I’m sorry.”
“I never meant to lie.”
“I wasn’t hiding another woman.”
“I was hiding what I’m becoming.”
His voice broke.
“I wanted you to know me…”
“…before I forgot who I was.”
I wrapped my arms around him.
“You should have trusted me.”
“I was afraid.”
“I’ve already buried one great love.”
“I couldn’t bear watching someone disappear a second time.”
I took his hand.
“Then don’t ask me to leave.”
His eyes filled with tears.
“I’m not asking.”
“I’m asking whether you’ll stay… while I still remember how lucky I am.”
The next morning, I postponed my flight.
One week became two.
Two became a month.
Eventually, we decided to spend half the year in Malta and half near my family.
Some mornings David forgot the name of the café where we had breakfast.
Sometimes he asked me to remind him how we had met.
Every single time…
I smiled…
Turned my map upside down…
And answered exactly the same way.
“You saw a lost woman who had finally decided to say yes.”
He always laughed.
Then he reached for my hand.
And for as long as he remembered…
He chose it all over again.