"Remember the ridiculous wedding cake."

"Remember that for a little while, two people who thought they had lost each other forever got another chance."

The recording ended.

A New Chapter

Eleanor didn't remain alone.

She continued volunteering.

She became involved with the organization Daniel had supported.

She started a small program for widows and widowers who were struggling with loneliness.

She called it Second Chapters.

The idea was simple.

People often believed that after a certain age, life was supposed to become smaller.

Eleanor disagreed.

She had learned that a person's life could change dramatically at seventy-three.

Love could return.

Friendships could deepen.

Old wounds could reopen.

New ones could heal.

And sometimes the greatest surprises arrived long after you had stopped expecting them.

Five Years Later

One spring afternoon, Eleanor sat beneath a tree in the community garden.

Her granddaughter was beside her.

They were planting flowers.

"Grandma?"

"Yes?"

"Do you still miss Daniel?"

Eleanor smiled.

"Every day."

"Does it still hurt?"

"Sometimes."

"Then why are you smiling?"

Eleanor looked at the flowers.

"Because missing someone doesn't mean you have to be unhappy that you knew them."

Her granddaughter thought about that.

Then smiled.

"That's complicated."

"Love usually is."

The Photograph

That evening, Eleanor returned home.

She opened a drawer.

Inside was the old photograph.

Two teenagers beneath a tiny umbrella.

She placed it beside a newer photograph.

Two seventy-three-year-olds standing together on their wedding day.

The difference was enormous.

The resemblance was unmistakable.

Same smiles.

Same eyes.

Same two people.