I’m at Barnes and Noble for an extended period of time because there’s no Internet in my newly acquired apartment. I’m in Indy, btw, so YAY! It’s been a crazy couple of days, that’s for sure. Working on settling in and finding out what’s in the area.
But what struck me as I was sitting in the cafe, was a family of four. I can’t help but look up and gaze at the people around me and wonder, imagine backstories, tidbits of trivia. The writer in me is always dreaming and plotting.
But across the way was that family of four. They entered the cafe, sat down at a table and after five minutes moved to another table. They waited, and eventually their Starbucks drinks arrived. Even though the two children were fairly young, the little boy probably around 8 or so and the girl around 11, they all got Starbucks drinks.
But this is the moment I wanted to capture, the moment I wish I could freeze in my mind, the snapshot of family and love portrayed: the little boy took a drink and made some strange gesture, some noise, some face that alerted the rest of the family to his plight. I looked up to find the mother gently stirring his drink, a small smile on her face, the sister facing her brother and smirking, and the father in the corner, trying hard to suppress his grin. For a tense moment it was quiet, and then the little boy burst out laughing, quietly, but loud enough to draw my attention away from my screen.
It was just as the little boy’s laugh gave way that the mother, sister, and even the father joined in. And that perfect moment, where all four were laughing, their heads leaning towards each other and the center of the table, caught completely in their own mirth and completely unaware of the rest of the world. That was the moment.
And just like that, I fell in love with the family.
Laura Raquel 