star gazing on the olympic peninsula
30 August 1997

You drive us to what feels like the edge of the Earth on a jet black night. Nina Simone is on the stereo and you lean across to help me recline my seat. Circulating in the still air, Nina's voice is sharp and clear, accentuating the silence that envelopes us. I long to look at both the sky and your child-like face turned upward in a spellbound gaze. Light moves above in a instant and you first grab the steering wheel and then my hand. Only then do I realize that in looking upward, I see more of you than ever before... a perspective transformed and illuminated. The Milky Way curves upward as if you're smiling at me and I can't help but smile back while I bask in the warmth of your touch.