Author's Note: This is written far into the future, likely beyond retirement age, but specifics isn't needed to get it. Inspired by Bring You Back by Brett Eldridge.
He couldn't help but gaze at her out of the corner of his eye. He knew that the movie playing had lost her attention long ago. Her now gray locks lay still on her shoulder, as time stood still around her. Her attention wasn't elsewhere so much as it just didn't exist. Her eyes had long since glazed over, her ability to enjoy even her favorite movie vanished.
Over many years of marriage, these silent moments became a regular occurrence. There friends never knew and their kids had only speculated. In those silent moments, Haley was overcome. She was sinking into the depths of herself, forgetting the love and memories as she battled her inner demons. She had battled depression for most of her life, but it was a battle she'd stop facing alone the minute they'd married. He knows the battle is a lifelong one.
He knew that in those silent moments that she wasn't thinking of their many dates, their beautiful kids and grandchildren, or even herself. He's watched time and time again as her smile slowly slips, her eyes lose focus, and her grip on his hand falls entirely. He's learned that in those moments she likes to sit silently while the rest of the world continues moving. He's learned that in those moments he should also sit silently, lending her his strength by being present. He's learned to watch her face. Her facial expressions always told the stories her mouth couldn't.
He knows when to grab her hand, running his thumb lightly over her knuckles. He knows that the corners of her mouth will tilt up, cracking a quiet smile, her eyes will slip closed, and her mouth will release a deep sigh. In that moment, her silence is ending and he knows he has brought her back. He has brought her back from the recesses of her mind that have told her she's not enough, that she doesn't belong, that she doesn't deserve all that she has, and occasionally that his life could be easier without her.
"Nathan," she sighs breathlessly. He squeezes her hand to let her know he's still there, still fighting for her and with her.
Her battles with herself have never been a burden or a responsibility to him. While he wishes to take those moments away, make the days easier, take away any and all pain she's experienced in life, he knows every minute has made her who she is today, the woman he loves. They've been together for decades, a lifetime of memories and silent moments and he doesn't regret a second of it.
He doesn't ask what she thinks about in those silent moments, though sometimes she tells him, but he always brings her back. Brings her back to him, to their family, back to love.