And they left. Glances over shoulders. Wistful smirks displayed as residue from a hotel movie memory. Grins, headshakes, the narrowing of eyes, and a downcast chin. Hiking up their messenger bags on their strained shoulders. Embraces with closed eyes and surreptitious inhalations have become taboo, handshakes and backpats substitute with an almost visibly lingering remorse for the deadened and archaic farewell. A puzzlepiece too late, only in eagle-eyed hindsight will it be a perfect goodbye. An outdated garbled automaton blares at no one in particular and no one notices. The queue surges forward and one by one they follow. Wrinkles from forced smiles become blurred as passengers dissipate.
I stand. Left leg slightly trembling from a locked-kneed stance held ten minutes past perception and five minutes past unambiguously liberal confirmation. Resolute stare fixed at the dirty plexi-glass. Shoulders unyielding and slanted away from the worn tunnel that leads to ascent. Eyes asquint, lips loosely unclosed to allow for shallow breaths.
Smaller and smaller until it is just a trace of a flyspeck, absorbed by unbounded expanse of pellucid firmament.
The traveling team left for Nationals sunday. i wasnt at the airport, but i imagine it was something to that effect.
