The car ride had gone quiet. Though it had been that way for some time now, it was a nice and comfortable silence that spanned between the four occupants of the small vehicle. I sat in the back behind the driver's seat with one ear bud in as I rested my shoulder on the door. I had been occupied by my phone for the majority of the four and a half hours we had currently been on the road. Now, however, I had nothing to quell my mind as my phone shut off effectively cutting off all possible way of warding off the emanate boredom.
Stuffing my phone in the pants pocket awkwardly in the limited space, I yawned heavily and looked around as I slowly took in my surroundings. I gazed out the window to my left. There was a pleasant expansion of glistening snow covered field on the other side of the glass and the sun was slowly descending on the horizon. The sun peaked meekly over the distant hills and illuminated the sky in a shy pink and an approaching purple as the rest of the sky's expansion darkened its blue hues. After a few minutes the shy pink matured into burning red and as the sun finally disappeared behind the hills the purple showed its full force against the red.
It was a beautiful sight; one I thank every chance I get to see it at the perfect moment. I glanced up at the front of the vehicle to the road that extended out as far as the eye could see through the wind shield. It was this glance that allowed me to see a rare moment much more elusive than that if the sun set. I only noticed because of the passing thought of something in the front blocking my line of sight to the wind shield.
In the front seat my dad's arm was extended across the middle of the car cutting off the bottom of the wind shield from my view. The arm was lax and rested easily on the corner of the driver's seat. What made my lips move into a gentile smile at my parent's actions was the way Dad gently brushed his fingers through his loves light shoulder length hair. The action was innocent and loving.
Arthur, my dad, is not the kind of person to show outward or public affection. He is certainly not known for being gentle or tender within view of any witnesses. That including his kids. Arthur is a distant person who has a hard time with people and how to manage his emotions. He is a good man with a kind heart but a scorched and thorny exterior.
Francis is my other dad, Papa. He is the man currently driving the car with a calculated grace and concentration. He was the only person I had ever met that could get Arthur to open up the way he did. Francis has a flamboyant and open personality that warms a room. He is the kind of person that shows all of his emotion and has no problem with an audience even when Dad objects readily at his actions.
In the driver's seat Papa calmly sat and let the hand softly stroke his hair. The motion was repetitive and soothing. Dad turned his head and gazed silently at Papa. His expression was at ease and almost, but not quite, expressionless. In that moment I realized I was looking into a private moment, but I couldn't bring myself to look away.
The expression on Arthurs face was subtle and showed a hidden gentleness he almost never showed. His expression was only the very surface of the emotions that splayed over his eyes. Arthur looked as if all he was seeing in the moment was Francis, as if he had become Arthur's whole world. To Arthur, Francis was an all-encompassing figure that settled gently in his heart with love and an ever present finality that Francis was Arthur's one and only in his eyes. After a few more moments Arthur's lips lifted in the smallest hint of a smile. It was a simple expression that showed a kind of tenderness that I had never seen on my dad's face before. Then the moment ended and Arthur looked back at the road in front of him.
I quickly snapped my eyes down to my lap. I felt as if I had witnessed something I was not meant to see. It left me feeling odd. The kind of love I had seen in my father's eyes and actions was something I wished to be able to feel myself one day. A feeling that deep and strong that I could share with the person I fell for in the future.
Until that day comes I will wait with baited breath until I meet them and all that I know will change.
I chanced another look at my parents. Dads arm had dropped and was now resting at his side and Papa continued as he had been.
The moment had truly passed and I sat reflecting on the feeling that had settled in my chest by my observation.