Hannah Waugh

She Is My “Place”

Destiny Hines

As she walks just ahead of me, I try not to stare. Her dirty blond hair is dusted with glistening grey that peaks out just under her sideways-worn Milwaukee Brewers baseball hat. She takes each step with confidence as she makes every effort not to cause a crease in her new grey-blue Converse shoes. Her first pair of jeans for the colder fall season were pulled from the back of her closet. They are stylishly distressed with rips at the knees and hanging white threads, and they sit just at her hips. Her grey-blue speckled shirt covered in a small swallow bird print shifts with each step. Her well-kept style will never overshadow her perfectly angled smile that lay below her beautiful, grey-blue crescent-shaped eyes.

Minutes feel like hours as I get lost in her swagger. With each step we take across cold, pale concrete toward the brightly lit entryway, my hand becomes clenched and yearns to hold hers. I listen closely to her enthusiastic words as she harmonically talks about sports. I try to appear as though I know what she is talking about. I, unfortunately, do not know much about the topic. What matters to me is that I know what I feel for her. I instead watch her as she gracefully takes each step, and I listen to her sing her words about sports.

Once we arrive, we wait for our names to be called so we can share one of many more meals together. We stand between two large white horse sculptures as they stand guard to the restaurant’s entrance. As I lean against a cold concrete wall while we wait, I feel arms wrap around me. The feeling of warmth swallows me whole. As she leans over my shoulder from behind me, her body pushes against mine. She lays her cheek to mine and then kisses my shoulder. I inhale and close my eyes as her kiss sends chills throughout my body.

My heart swims in this moment. I inhale deeply while I still stand wrapped in her arms. She smells of men’s cologne. A smile spreads from ear to ear across my face. With my eyes still closed, I can feel the eyes of people staring as they walk past us. The feelings

of bliss coursing through me take over. I no longer think of anything but her. The smell of spices starts to intertwine with the cool autumn breeze, and it begins to spin all around us. We both inhale deep and then exhale with sounds of pleasure as our stomachs start to grow in anticipation. I open my eyes to refocus and realize our surroundings. While we still stand in the same place—the restaurant entryway— something has changed in me.

At that moment that I was in her arms, even though it was only a few minutes, I felt as though time had stood still. Her warm, affectionate embrace made me feel complete. At that moment, nothing else was as important. That moment showed me she is my home, my heart, and my “place.”