A TV program was being videoed. Tonight it was to select the sweetest whisper of love ever said between husband and wife. The final competition was held among 10 married couples. Seven of them were young ones, two middle-aged and one old. The last turn came to the old couple. The old lady took the microphone and said the sweetest whisper of love she had ever heard was: " Are you standing or sitting?" The host fixed his eyes on her, quite puzzled by her words. Regardless of all the talking around, she went on with her story. Her husband had been a doctor before he retired. One day when he was on duty at the hospital, he felt a sharp pain at the heart. By his professional knowledge he knew immediately he suffered a fit of heart attack. His colleagues carried him at once to the operation room and prepared  him for a bypass operation, which was highly risky. The patient's family members had to be informed before it began. The patient himself was allowed to put in a word. Lying silently on the operation table with a trembling hand, he dialed after a moment's thinking of the number of his wife's phone. Finally a familiar voice came from the other end... "So many years had passed but memory of this incident remained fresh in my mind. What he said in the beginning was: 'Are you standing or sitting?' He was actually worried about me, wondering how I felt at the news. He was afraid I would have fallen flat onto the ground. In such a critical  state as he was then, his thought still went to me..." The old lady concluded slowly, "That's the sweetest whisper of love I've ever heard all my life." A loud applause followed in the wake of a short silence. Why did the old man think for a moment before he called his wife?
He hesitated to tell her about his condition. He wanted to delay being operated on. He was mindful of his wife's safety. He was too nervous to think up his words.