This is the imaginary soul-search of a weather-worn middle-aged man, sprung into thought by an unusual sight.
As he saw the elderly couple sitting side-by-side in the town square, Simon was thrown back into his familiar patterns of inner questioning. Why were they so happy? In love, so late in life? Had he missed something? A mysterious key to lasting love beyond all the pathetic cliche's? He knew their names, but he had never known them well enough or long enough to have a real conversation with them. They were simply the tenderly loving, happy couple of the town, seemingly untouched by the harsh waves of time. Always together, as long as he'd known. Simon admitted that he could probably have learned a thing or two about conflict resolution throughout his history of disappointing relationships. But his thoughts inevitably returned to the fact that he had always done decently until one woman after another had let him down. He knew he wasn't perfect, but what could they expect? He'd had good intentions, but he had his needs as well. He was a man. Yes, he'd simply been unlucky...fell for the pretty face one too many times, only to be disappointed again when the first thrill wore off and she showed her true colors. Did he have bad judgement? But how could anyone know ahead of time? Lasting happiness in a relationship was a rare thing, and most people just simply weren't lucky enough to fall into it.
Still, seeing the elderly couple there, now looking into each others' eyes, younger than their years, freshly stirred his longing. Did they know some secret, that had somehow simply eluded him?
No, it couldn't be. For any couple to end up this happy must mean that they were simply one of those very rare cases in which each was lucky enough to meet and marry the perfect person for them. How else could it be?
The husband's name was Hosea, and his wife's name was Gomer.
