Last year, on the eve of their first holiday season together, she got him an ipod. When he insisted that he would never figure out how to work it, and that it was more technology than he could handle - he was an old man, you know - she just smiled, and said that sometimes, the best things in life are brand new and full of new puzzles to figure out. He understood the metaphor.
This year, as he sits on her front porch, frowning, after yet another pointless argument between them, he gets an idea.
The next week, on the night before her birthday, she opens her door to find him standing there shyly, a flower in one hand and a vinyl record in the other.
"John, what-
He silences her with a kiss and tucks the flower behind her ear, before leaning down even further with a small smirk on his face to whisper in her ear,
"You know Liv, sometimes it's best to just go back to the beginning."
She smiles broadly, and he hands her the record, grinning also. Time to go back to the kind of music that works; metaphorically of course.