My Biggest Secret

My Coming of "Age"

I loved keeping secrets, especially as a child. It made my days important and created a special bond with those who shared it with me. Some of my secrets, like my falling in love for the first time, lasted long; some were short-lived. Without a doubt, however, my longest running secret, and that which caused considerable turmoil, was about my age.

It all began when my husband and I joined school after quitting our respective jobs. We were both successful professionals in our respective fields It was my husband's dream to pursue a master's degree from this particular school and I followed suit. I promptly enrolled in the master's program, though in a different discipline. A new life unfolded before me. I started going to school with fresh graduates, who were at least ten years my junior. My husband and I lived in the student apartments in the campus. We lived among students and wined and dined with them.

We were married for less than a year and I was not going to lose out to some young chick. I started taking great pains to look younger. Everyday, I would ritualistically apply generous amounts of lotion over all visible parts of my body- my face, neck, hands and feet- in an effort to hide those fine lines which kept reappearing. I took to coloring my hair to cover up the tiny silver strands that were beginning to show. Wearing clothes a size below the actual also helped.

I tried hard to maintain my secret. I remember celebrating my birthday on campus when out popped the question, "How old are you?" I was taken aback. "Excuse me", I thought, "these questions were never asked. Was there not a maxim about not asking a man his salary and a woman her age?" I mustered my presence of mind and also my mathematical sense to subtract a good ten years from my real age. This was a near disaster. It should not be repeated again. I mean, where would I stand among a bevy of sprightly and comely youngsters? How would they treat me if they knew my real age? I was positive I would be ostracized.