We were at the local diner. Seated in a booth by the window overlooking the stairs leading up to the front door. A perfect perch to view those coming and going.
I noticed the couple as they walked carefully from their car to the stairs. They were elderly. As he reached to hold her hand and help her toward the stairs, it was with the tenderness of their first touch -- so many years ago.
She reached for the hand rail and stepped up slowly. Carefully. Deliberately. He followed.
Another couple came up the stairs. Middle age. Much younger than the first. I recognized the man who is a local merchant. He reached the door first. He held it open as the elderly couple made their way up the stairs.
He waited. It was that slightly longer wait that was not taken for granted. Neighborly. Thoughtful. Caring.
The elderly man nodded. “Thank you” could be seen on his lips through the window. A smile of appreciation. “Not for me, thank you for holding the door for my wife. Thanks for helping me help her.”
Sometimes you see something that makes you smile from a distance. There is no video to go viral. But the scene will replay in my mind every time I go up those stairs to the diner.