Dear Jessica Brennan,
Last week I was stopped in traffic at Dundas and Wellington. The road was under construction so it was taking a few lights longer than usual to get through the intersection.
As I waited I saw two girls in school uniforms talking to a boy also in uniform. I think they must have been from Catholic Central high school, known of course to us here in London simply as CCH.
They looked to be in about grade 9, so what is that 13 or 14 years old? The girls looked like young women while the boy really still looked much younger than a man. As was the case when I was that age, this is not something any of them seemed to notice. Rather, it’s something we seem to be aware of later when we have lived past this unfathomable stage of life.
In any case, they obviously knew each other and were chatting cooly to one another. I observed all of this vibe of excruciatingly lovely adolescence as I waited there in the car. They all looked beautiful and bright like fawns in the wood.
Finally the boy said goodbye to the girls and as he was about to leave, the taller of the two girls took his hand just for a second and then let go – an affectionate goodbye to a friend, then the girls walked away chatting animatedly.
The boy turned away from them and with his back to the girls now, crossed the street in front of me. His face went from composed to flushed then to a little grin. He tried to regain a cool look a couple of times but by the time he reached the opposite curb his smile was wide and unstoppable – he was positively glowing.
I was smiling too, so happy for him. His heart was full of that undeniable blooming feeling of what isn’t yet, but just might be the eruption of fresh love. That hopeful blushing all encompassing second that lives just before whatever comes next. A euphoric sensation that if bottled could heal the entire world just by dropping one teaspoon into the planet’s water supply.
Under construction may well have had a double meaning that day. It was such a magical moment. I loved it.
Love, Mum
xo
