A few days ago, I was at the office all alone. It was Sunday so everyone else had their weekly day off while I didn’t. When I was about to close the showroom, a car pulled in, and an old couple came out off the car. Apparently, they’re planning to build a wardrobe and kitchen for their new apartment. Let me describe this couple. They’re about 60-ish and I bet very rich. I greeted them and showed them around the showroom.
They started off as a costumer, asking about “what new stuff do you have?” which means that they’re an old costumer coming back for another purchase. They stared arguing with each other in Dutch!—yes, it’s so meant to be, but they’re actually Indonesian—and I tried not to laugh until the lady finally realized that I understand Dutch. After the language barrier, they started to treat me not as a sales woman anymore, but more as a ‘new girl that just got her job, let’s try to make this a good experience for her’ attitude.
The old guy kept saying ‘I want this, I want that, look! It’s so great! Oh wow, I want it featured in my house.’ And the old lady kept saying ‘oh my god! The apartment is not even ready yet, stop making her confuse and just get to the point! We can take care of what’s inside the wardrobe later.’ Which replied by the old guy ‘but it has to be good, kijk dit is mooi.’
They also have the behavior of old couple that’s adoring—in some ways. The old guy couldn’t stop sneezing and the lady would look at me while rolling her eyes saying ‘he’s really old, once he sneezes he wont stop’ the she smiled.
My office offers a discount for costumers. To get this discount they must play with our dartboard then pop a balloon to know how much discount they get. And when I said that, they both were so exited and the old guy said ‘you do that’ to his wife then look at me ‘she’s better at this stuff than I do, but can I also play? Can we throw twice?’ with a playful look in his eyes. They only got 10% discount instead of 49,9 but they jumped on their feet happily. *ah, seriously I’m tearing up remembering this*
It’s warming in some ways to see they still fought each other in ‘old couple demeanor’ and they still play around feeling like they’re just as young as me. I was actually very happy to meet them. I didn’t grow up with the luxury of having my grandparents around, so I never really knew how to deal with old people—although I have a very sensitive part about it, I fall easily for old people instead of dogs or babies. They made me feel welcomed. Moreover, this energy they have toward each other is—again, I just realized—actually something I always seek in someone. I want that.
I don’t want a lover to be with me and adore me in our youth, but I want a best friend to grow old with. I want to be looking at that person not just as ‘my man’ (sorry for the choice of words) but as a great friend I want to spend the rest of my life with. I want to be 60 and that person still look at me with that adoring shine in his eyes, no matter how much wrinkles I get at that time. No matter how old I look. I want to look at that person saying ‘that’s my best friend, and my husband. We’ve been through a lot, and we had fun living our life. Because when life sunk us to the very bottom, we know we got each other as our best friend.’
