J M Veitch

The Woods

The last time I saw him he was dropping me off at the airport in Austin. I was crying but didn’t want him to see. The car idled in the passenger drop-off lane, and though we weren’t supposed to linger, we did. I had my back turned to him. Of course he knew I was crying. I was sniffling and wiping hot tears from my face. He reached out to me and said gently, “Hey…hey. Turn around.” I snorted a laugh, turned around, and sang the opening lines of “Total Eclipse of the Heart.” We spent lots of time on that trip singing dramatic radio rock remembering decades past. He laughed with me, added his Adam Sandler version to the song, and pulled me in close for a final hug. I pressed my cheek to his chest and breathed him in, missing him already.