A Dance At the Retro Bar

‘…She sat there, on the worn, red seat with a glass of gin and lemonade in hand, looking up at the older couple who had decided to come in for the night. Whilst her friends laughed and played pool, her gaze landed on the sweet old couple, who had decided after a few too many old fashions - fitting for the elderly pair, to get up and dance. The older gentleman, with his worn checkered suit, shakily got up from the bright red booth and extended a trembling hand to the lady. Not nerves though, no - this couple were well versed in each others rhythm. They knew each other, this was no first date. Their history and familiarity within one another was palpable even from where the girl was sat. As the gentleman helped his love lift uneasy legs from the booth, they began their waltz. From her corner in the bar, she noted the man was mumbling something to his wife - perhaps the lyrics to ‘Put your head on my shoulder’ by Paul Anka which had started to play from the old jukebox. Whilst everyone else in the pub was occupied with their own thoughts, her eyes were on them. They seemed so at home in this old bar. Which now, to the younger occupants, was considered ‘vibey’ or ‘so retro’ but for the pair, perhaps it gave them a sense of peace, of joy - to be back in familiar territory. The old couple must’ve loved dancing in their younger days, she thought. To be completely in sync with each other as they are now. Their gazes on each other as if nobody else was in this room, the look of devotion and contentment in their smiles. She wondered if they regularly came here, to where time-stopped when the world was ever-changing and evolving. She wondered if coming here made them feel like they were back in the good old days, in their youth. When things weren’t so different and they didn’t have to worry about the modern world, they could escape into their time-machine and be young again. She wondered if she’d feel like when she was their age - what would her future look like? Would she want to escape into a place where time had stopped and relive her youthful days, however bleak and scary they feel now? These questions plagued her. Did they plague the old couple? If they did they showed no signs of it, their bodies swaying in perfect harmony to the music…’