She could never forget the day they got married, he packed his clothes in a suitcase, then told her to go to Da Lat for their honeymoon the next morning. For young people today, a honeymoon means enjoying privacy in a beautiful city, sometimes renting a luxurious room at a resort in Da Lat, Ba Ria - Vung Tau , Nha Trang or Sa Pa to truly enjoy, in the condition that any phone can take pictures, and there are countless apps to beautify and post on Facebook or Zalo like movie stars. But their honeymoon that day did not have a single souvenir photo because they did not have a camera, no phone that could take pictures and no Facebook. But at that time, going on a honeymoon was a rare thing.
At that time, the wedding party was held at home, the neighbors came over to help cook, some people went to the wedding without bringing gifts, while others gave bowls, cups, notebooks... and even a poem. After the wedding, the couple only had a little money to go out, so they chose to stay at their aunt's house. Now, thinking back, she said: "Isn't that funny?". It was really funny that at night the couple were arranged to sleep in two places, like they were isolated. And at that time, when walking around the clothing stores in Hoa Binh area, she kept looking at a very beautiful light purple coat hanging in a fashion shop, but didn't have money to buy it. He blurted out to her that one day when he made money, he would buy it for her.
Life goes by day by day, month by month. The couple also forgot about the time when they first went to Da Lat. Then many years later, the house of their aunt where they used to live was sold, and this place was rebuilt, with a new owner. The memory of the first time they went to Da Lat together gradually became only a memory when they had to worry about so many things in life, worry about raising two children who grew up every day until they started their own families. When they had free time, they chose to go to Da Lat again. Then every year, they drove to Da Lat by motorbike on the anniversary of their marriage, or sometimes just to see the wild sunflowers blooming or Da Lat when it was cold and peach blossoms blooming. And of course, it was not like that time when they had to sleep in two different rooms, but they often chose a small, quiet hotel to rest and then drove each other to every corner of Da Lat. The trips to Da Lat now were full of joy and comfort. Sometimes he rented a room at a resort, where the grounds were full of flowers and grass, the room looked out onto a beautiful garden, with winding gravel paths and swings full of flowers and leaves. To remind him of the couple on their honeymoon, only staying at his aunt's house, a small wooden house that was not romantic at all.
Yet we have been together for more than 35 years. Over thirty-five years, there were times when we argued as if we might break up, but we quickly made up. When he was young, he easily skipped meals, but now, even when he is angry with his wife, he still sits down to eat on time. When she was young, she would take her motorbike to the beach, then find a stone bench somewhere to sit and sob to ease her sadness. When they were angry, the house was so quiet that even the sound of the wind blowing through the window made a sound. Then he was always the one to apologize first, he said that being angry with each other was very sad. During those years, there were times when we didn't have money, but it didn't matter, she went to the market to run around and open a candy store, while he went to deliver goods. During those days of selling goods at the market, the couple were so busy that they drove each other from dawn to dusk and came home when the lights were already red. At that time, there were no holidays and no anniversaries. She said: "We are old, what's the point of having holidays, honey?"
Young people today live differently than before, just falling in love but already having a very bustling birthday party, in luxurious restaurants, and of course lots of flowers. Seeing that, on her birthday, he ordered a beautiful flower basket through a flower shop. That day he pretended to be away, but when he came back, she frowned: "You're so extravagant, you know? I'm old, giving flowers like that is ridiculous." So from then on, he didn't dare give her a flower basket, only bought things she liked like lipstick, handbags, shampoo... and of course only within his budget or he lowered the price just because he was afraid she would say it was expensive.
So it has been thirty-five years together. The children are far away, sometimes they call home or on summer days, they come home very quickly. The house has a husband and wife and a large yard with all kinds of flowers. He takes care of the flowers, and she waters the plants every day. The flowers and grass are very strange, when someone takes care of them, they secretly bloom, creating a beautiful corner of the yard. He comes home from work and tells her happy and sad stories. She stays home, takes care of family matters, sometimes goes to a volunteer club or gathers with old school friends on the first day of the week, telling a few old stories to make them happy.
Then the 35th wedding anniversary was celebrated. On the 35th wedding anniversary, he and his wife were old in the true sense of the word, it was also the anniversary of her birthday "combined" to avoid celebrating two days apart - she said so, she was frugal by nature. The two daughters living far away always remembered their parents' anniversary, sending flowers a day in advance so that their parents could go somewhere. It also became a habit to create joy and strengthen the love in the family. The flowers were sent early, he said: "We are going to Da Lat".
It was still the same trip to Da Lat as many times before, on a very familiar motorbike. The road was also very familiar, each stop was at the foot of Khanh Le Pass, there was Ben Loi restaurant, then at the end of the pass was a small coffee shop on a high slope in Long Lanh town. This season, the peach blossoms had not bloomed, the wild sunflowers had not bloomed, but the sky and earth were blue and clear, and on the pass, countless white reeds welcomed him. The car entered Da Lat, around Xuan Huong Lake, like the previous times, he turned onto Bui Thi Xuan Street, checked into a familiar hotel. This time was different, he continued to turn to Tuyen Lam Lake, a beautiful resort was in front of her. She got out of the car, smiling: "People go to the resort by car, I go by motorbike". He stroked her hair, it had been a long time since he stroked her hair.
He had booked the dinner party, he didn't tell her in advance because she was very frugal, she said there was no need to be extravagant. The candles were burning brightly, the sky of Dalat tonight had a bright moon and the music was very soft, soothing instrumental music. In front of them was Tuyen Lam Lake sparkling with lights, he and she were like a young couple in love.
She and he clinked glasses of red wine, he stood up, came to her, hugged her, and asked: "Are you cold?", she said: "Da Lat is very cold". Quite surprisingly, he took the box with a red bow and placed it on the table next to him, she had seen the box but did not pay attention. He whispered: "After 35 years of marriage, I was able to buy you this gift". It was a very beautiful coat, just like the dream 35 years ago when she and he went to Da Lat and dreamed of having a coat. It was not until thirty-five years later that he was able to give her the gift of her dreams.
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