Today I went to In-N-Out for lunch by myself and, as usual, it was packed. I managed to find an empty barstool in between two older couples. As we sat and ate, I noticed the couple to my right was talking nonstop while the couple on my left spoke two sentences to eachother the entire time.
It reminded me of when we were on our honeymoon and were eating our formal meal in the fancy dining room. I noticed a couple across the room, eating dinner in silence and thought to myself how awful that must be. To have nothing to say to your spouse. I couldn't imagine it.
Yet as I sat there, listening to the woman next to me talk about this and that I couldn't help but become charmed by the quiet couple. There was a calm, comfort surrounding them as they slowly ate their burgers, saying "the place is clearing out" and nothing more to eachother.
I talk, a lot. My nickname as a little girl was Jabber Jaws. During a drive my husband made it a point to keep track of how long I would continue talking without any interjections from him. Five minutes, he never said a word and I talked and changed topics without missing a beat.
My husband's quiet and reserved. He puts a lot of thought into what he says, never blurting out, "how high can helicopters fly?" like I do.
Yet when we are together we talk. During our long commutes together we spend most of the time talking. It's hard to imagine silence in our home.
So I guess what I'm getting at is that I always imagined we'd have plenty to talk about and never become the couple who eats in silence. I feared it to be honest. To me it seemed like that's when you know you're passion and romance is gone.
But something about that couple, about the silence they ate together brought new light to my perception. Maybe it's a good thing. Maybe there will come a day when you have nothing more to say because you're so in sync there's no need to say anything. When you can sit there at In-N-Out and observe the world around you in complete comfort next to the one you love and know that there is nothing you need to say to make life that much more perfect.
And now I can't wait.
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