Couples That Work

8

Loss and Limits

Noam lay quietly in bed, gazing thoughtfully at Shira’s sleeping form. Decades of experience had altered the fierce beauty of her youth. Her curves had softened, her long, straight hair was now more silver than brown, and sun spots mottled her strong hands.

Noam’s body, once lithe and muscular like the long-distance runner he had been, had also been changed by time. The bulge around his waist, the persistent dull aches in his joints, and the eyeglasses he now relied on were constant reminders that he was well into middle age. Still rattled by the sudden death of a childhood friend six months ago, Noam was keenly aware of his own mortality. If Itai, a paragon of healthy living, could be taken by a heart attack without warning, ...