"Sexuality is much more than penetration"

Writer Gemma Lienas met Enric at her best friend's wedding. "He was also her best friend, and although I'd heard a lot about it, we'd never met." At the wedding, Gemma noticed him, but things didn't go any further. Until one day, around the Mercè festivities, Enric showed up unexpectedly at their mutual friend's house. "He sat across from me, and besides being handsome, I found him intelligent and funny. Two hours later, it was clear we were on the same wavelength. Five days later, we were starting a relationship, and ten days later, in a café that no longer exists, I found myself thinking that for the first time, they had aligned. 32 years, and it was the first time in my life that everything was working out."

More than 40 years have passed since then, and the writer assures us that Enric is not just her love, he's her "friend and life partner." "I realized he was also my friend when he had a health problem a few years ago. I was so distressed and wanted to cry, and I missed being able to tell my best friend about it, because he was the one! I always tell him we've been very lucky; he says we've also worked hard."

There are rituals they've had for a long time. Every night at eight o'clock, they pour themselves a glass of white wine and do the crossword puzzle together. When they're not working, they also like to go for walks, cook, or share reading time. "He's a science major, and I'm a humanities major, and we both love to read. At home, we have 13,000 books neatly arranged; it's like a library." When they're working, each in their own office, they have a habit that Gemma hopes never to lose: "There's always one of us who gets up at some point and goes to the other's office to give them a kiss. If we pass each other in the hallway, I also like to stop him and give him a hug."

The writer claims that sexuality doesn't have to die with age. "It simply changes, and luckily, because if we always had the same desire as when we were young, our bodies wouldn't follow suit." "We've been taught that sexuality is penetration, but there are many other ways to express sexuality: kisses, caresses... As the years go by, there isn't the same effervescence, but there is still a desire for the other, and that's very beautiful."