Not-stalgia

“When I was 21, I was proposed to by Rita, Rita Swelternik was her name, she had the hots for me” the old man chuckled “I told her ‘Rita I can’t marry you. What about the other ones?” He laughed, shaking his head, amused by his own joke.

Liam sitting beside him on the park bench, forced a smile. Is this what I am going to be when I am sixty? An old man, lost in memories, clinging to past romances, he thought.

“….And then there was Priya, cute little Indian girl, she always fed me sweets” He sighed dramatically “But she wanted a rich man, I told her ‘Priya, all I want is a life full of love and laughter!’ She later married some Silicon Valley investor who doesnt even know the difference between jalebe and laddoo.

“Liam smirked, at least the old man still has humor about it. “Do you not regret it?” he asked hesitantly.

The old man leaned back. “Regret? The only people who regret love are the ones too scared to fall all the way in.” He stretched his arms “I may have lost a few, but I loved them well and that is worth all the riches in the world.”

Liam sat in silence, pondering those words.

The old man struggled a bit before standing. “Well time to see if Martha at the bakery still remembers me.” He winked “She used to have the hots for me too, you know, just like the buns she baked”

Liam couldnt help but grin. Maybe being old and full of stories was not so bad after all. Maybe it meant you lived a life worth telling.