Lourdes watched her husband from the kitchen window, while he was busy wood carving outside. She smiled at the concentration on his face as he worked the piece of driftwood they'd found on the beach a few days ago on their evening stroll.
Lourdes thought it was beautiful as is, but she knew that if anyone could turn that piece of driftwood into something magical, it was her husband, Antonio.
Tomorrow would be their fiftieth wedding anniversary. She couldn't believe how fifty years had passed by so fast. Perhaps it was true what they said about time flying when you're having fun. She still remembered their wedding day as if it were just yesterday.
Of course, no one was with them at the time because they'd eloped. The relationship between the daughter of a wealthy olive farmer and a farmhand's lowly son would never work for the circles her family moved in. They'd refused to accept their love, but their love was stronger than that.
Lourdes' wedding was both the happiest and saddest day of her life. She had made a lifelong promise to the man she'd fallen in love with, but without her family's blessings.
And yet... even now, she wouldn't change a thing.
Life had never been lonely for them, even without children. There was so much love between them, that they never felt a void by not having had any. Lourdes would always tell Antonio that it felt like they were in their own little bubble, and he'd smile at her words, and her confidence in what they shared.
Antonio was an excellent woodcarver; a skill passed on through generations in his family. Like Antonio's own father who treated wood carving as nothing more than a hobby, he didn't get the fuss over the magnificent pieces he'd created.
But then again, that modesty of his was a part of the charm that had won her over.
Through his fine workmanship, he managed to gain regular, very wealthy clients who were always willing to pay copious amounts for his every little piece.
A few years before, Antonio had gifted Lourdes the one dream that she'd never let go of; her dream of living close to the seaside. He'd found a cottage right on the beach in a picturesque little village off the coast of Andalusia.
The house itself wasn't fancy, but it was filled with love. Lourdes cherished it, and turned it into a home.
She had had no clue that he'd saved almost every penny he'd earned for years to be able to do that. They'd always lived a simple life, and it suited them both.
Antonio looked up suddenly and caught her gazing at him dreamily.
He smiled. She smiled.
They were as in love today, as they were on that day they married nearly fifty years ago.
***********
As splinter after splinter flew into the air from the piece of driftwood, Antonio started getting frustrated. He had gotten the idea of turning that piece of wood into an ornately carved jewellery box for Lourdes, and he knew he wouldn't stop until he got it perfect, no matter how frustrated he became with the rigid piece of wood.
It wasn't that she had much jewellery to put in it, but it wasn't about that anyway. This gift would be like he was giving her another piece of himself, because she already had the rest.
In any case, he was having a tough time with the salt-saturated wood. He finally managed to groove into a particularly difficult curve, and dug out the piece of splintered wood that rotted due to the saltwater.
Sighing with relief, he kept at carving until his fingers hurt.
The arthritis he refused to listen to the doctor about was starting to really settle in. He flexed his fingers and looked up to find Lourdes looking at him, a small smile on her lips as she held the teacup to her mouth.
