Lindy and her husband, Kevin, were new to our community. Donna, my wife, wanted to get to know them and welcome them in. She made a batch of brownies, and in the evening, we made our way to their house to deliver them. Lindy met us at the door and invited us in.

Lindy was a boisterous young lady, and she did almost all the talking for both of them. After we settled in on the couch across from them, I asked Kevin what he did for a living. Before he could answer, Lindy did.

“Kevin is into construction. He works mostly as a manual laborer, but he is hoping to eventually get a certificate as a plumber.”

“That sounds good,” I replied. “Have you heard the joke about the surgeon and the plumber?”

They shook their heads.

“Well, a plumber did some work on a surgeon’s house, and when he finished, he gave the surgeon the bill. When the surgeon looked at it, he gasped. ‘Why, I don’t even make this amount per hour, and I’m a surgeon.’ The plumber nodded. ‘You know, when I was a surgeon, I didn’t either,’ he said.”

They laughed, and Lindy said, “We hope he makes good money.” She then turned to me. “So, what do you do for a living?”

“I am a professor at Ricks College,” I replied.

“What do you teach?”

“I teach math.”

Lindy wrinkled her nose. “I can’t believe anybody likes math. I’m sure it’s an old person thing. Today, with calculators and everything, who needs it?” Lindy then turned to Donna and asked, “Do you like math?”

Donna shrugged. “I like it okay, but I’m not into it as much as Daris is.”

It was Donna’s turn to ask a get-to-know-you question. Her favorite topic when meeting other married couples is to find out how they met. It almost always leads to something interesting. So that’s what she asked.

“Oh, that’s really fun,” Lindy said. “I was working at a fast-food restaurant taking orders when a whole group of guys from his construction crew came in. When they ordered, Kevin smiled at me, and I just felt my heart melt. The others must have seen it. They challenged him to ask me out. Kevin is rather shy and wasn’t going to, but one guy said he would lend Kevin his truck for the date. Kevin had always wanted to drive the guy’s beautiful pickup, so he decided he would.”

Lindy went on to tell us about how Kevin came and asked her. She talked about their first date and some of the crazy things they did, as well as some about other dates. She finished by saying, “And, well, here we are.”

Lindy then asked, “So, how did you meet?”

“We met at Ricks College,” I replied.

“Wow!” Lindy said. “Was she a student in one of your classes? I didn’t think you were supposed to date your students.”

Donna snickered, and I glanced at her. Lindy must have noticed, because she said, “I mean, you know, the age difference and all.”

“We were both in school at the time,” I replied.

Again, Lindy looked shocked. “You must have gone to school late in life.”

I shook my head. “We’re only three years different in age.”

Once more, Lindy looked surprised, but answered in a sympathetic tone. “I’m sorry. You must have been through a lot in your life.”

By this time, Donna was almost choking to keep back her laughter. Kevin looked mortified about what his wife was saying and seemed to want to stop her. He spoke the first words I heard him say all evening.

“Hey, everybody, how about some brownies?”

I nodded. “Sounds good to me.”

Hey, I might as well be both old and fat.