Private moments in public places.

There are times when one may observe a private moment, unseen and uninvolved, and that moment will become locked in their memory...forever.

She stood alone, and the crowd of people leaving the plane moved around her. She possessed that unusual beauty of a mature woman, and was fashionably attired, though in muted tones which did not cause her to stand out.

Though I was directly in front of her, I went unobserved, as her attention was focused behind me, where she knew that the person for whom she was waiting, would appear.

I wondered who that person could be. A son or daughter, friend, husband or perhaps a lover. Her demeanor gave no clue. Then, her hand slowly dropped into her pocketbook and when it reappeared, she held a small bottle of perfume. In a brief but calculated move, she quickly sprayed two short bursts, one on each side of her lovely neck. It was then that I knew that the one for whom she waited was, most likely, husband...and lover.

The look of anticipation on her face changed, only a brief moment later, though to me, it seemed an eternity, and the merest of “Mona Lisa” smiles brightened her face. Though I wanted to turn around to identify the man, I resisted the temptation. It seemed that if I turned, the moment would be lost.  She took one small, hesitant step forward, and I knew that he was approaching. I felt him pass within an arms reach of where I sat.

As he met her there, mere feet from me, she turned slightly to her left and he to his left, leaving him quartered away from me, and I could not see his face. He was about a foot taller than she, and as he bent to her, she stood on tip-toe to meet his kiss. It was a brief kiss but it exhibited the passion that only comes from years of marriage.

They turned to walk away and quietly slipped their arms around each other’s waists.

As I sat there in my chair, apart from them, I felt an odd sense of sharing their moment, though I only participated as an observer. It was a moment. It was their moment. It was our moment.