'90s Problems

Chapter 2

"The first time I saw you, I knew I had to meet you. I didn't know when or how, but I knew I would."

- The Age of Adaline, in theaters April 24

Todd held his coffee cup with a weariness that belied his seventeen year old appearance.  “So, you know my upstairs neighbour I told you guys about?”

“Judy?” I offered helpfully.  Of course we all knew how Todd felt about her; he’d spoken about almost nothing else during our last four SDD support group meetings.

“Judy…” he sighed, his youthful face filled with a dreamy infatuation.  “Well, I really thought we’d been getting closer over the last few weeks.  I’ve been as gentlemanly as I can be, opening doors for her, helping with her groceries, bringing her fresh flowers.”

“She’s a lucky woman, Todd,” rumbled Reuben, our group leader.  The eldest of all of us, he’d never told us his exact age, but he was definitely well into triple digits, despite looking only forty or so.  “Did you consider telling her about your condition and how you feel about her?”

“I did.  I thought about what you guys told me last week, that I had to weigh up the risks.  She and I have chatted for hours, we’re so compatible.  We were even born in the same year!”  Todd’s eyes glistened as he looked mournfully around our little meeting space, which was just the small board room in Reuben’s real estate agency.  Unlike me, Reuben had used his many decades to accumulate property and business acumen.  All I seemed to accumulate were issues.

“What happened, Todd?” I asked, trying to focus.

“I decided she was worth it. So, when she invited me over for dinner the other night, I wore my good shirt, bought some carnations, her favourites, and knocked on her door.”

He shook his head, remembering.  “A girl answered, her granddaughter.  Barely sixteen, just a kid.  And there’s Judy, pulling me into the kitchen, telling me that she invited Britney over for me, because she thought we’d be a cute couple.”

I laid a soft hand on his back.  “Oh, Todd.  I’m so sorry.”

“So, I had to sit there for all of dinner, staring at the woman I’ve fallen for, while she’s smiling at me, oblivious, so proud she’d found me the perfect date for the night.  After the meal, she left us alone in the lounge room, where Britney tried to kiss me.”  He threw his hands up.  “Back in my day, the young women waited for you to kiss them.  What was I supposed to say?  Sorry, sweetheart, but this is actually paedophilia?  My sixtieth birthday was last month?  I’m interested in your grandma?  I stood up and walked out and haven’t been back since.”

Reuben spoke, soothing and majestic.  “It is a hard hand you have been dealt, my friend.”

Todd’s tone turned bitter.  “It’s just not fair!  The whole world hates us, because they seem to think that the only thing that matters is living forever, and we’ve somehow cheated them out of immortality.  But what’s the point of living forever if you can’t spend the time beside someone you love?”

No one answered him.  Out of the dozen or so people in the room, all of us were single.  SDD keeps us alone, I thought in despair.  I’d give it up in a second if it meant I could say yes to someone like Matt.

There was a tap at the door, and a handsome Indian couple who looked in their mid-twenties stepped inside, the weight of their grief almost visible.  “Hello, everyone.”

“Arjun, Ria.”  We greeted them softly, with hugs and warmth.  “How was the funeral?”

“It was beautiful,” said Ria, her almost-black eyes luminous.