When the years start stacking up on you, and your spouse dies, the holidays can be a really tough time of the year. But one young woman wasn’t about to let that happen to a friend of hers, and here’s a story of a date to beat loneliness.
22-year-old Ellie Walker certainly didn’t have to do it… but she did. She invited 86-year-old Edwin Holmes out on a dinner date over the holidays. Edwin had frequented her Sainsbury’s store in Leeds, England, and the two quickly struck up a friendly relationship.
Then, one day as the holidays neared, Edwin told her that his wife had died about 10 years ago, and that he would be spending the holidays alone this year, as his daughter now lives in Australia. Well, Ellie just couldn’t stand the idea of Edwin being by himself during such a time, so she invited him out to dinner.
When he showed up for their date, he was wearing his finest suit with a bunch of flowers for Ellie. Edwin said it was his first date in 55 years, and he was as nervous as a schoolboy.
Says Ellie: “It made me cry because I could see how much it meant to him.”
Edwin and Ellie now meet regularly for coffee. And the years between them cannot separate their friendship for each other.