Cherub

What is it that makes certain moments in life beautiful? Is it a certain alignment of the planets? The tangibility of a feeling? Or perhaps it’s just the way the light may be shining? Does it all just depend on who you’re sharing the moment with? Whatever it is, at that time, it was present. Maybe it was the way the radio casted soft coppery notes throughout the car or the way the stars had been twinkling big and bright, free from the oppression of city lights. I suppose it could have been the way Kristofferson and I had occasionally met each other’s gazes through the rear view mirror as if we could communicate using only our eyes. I had already grown to like him quite a bit despite only knowing him for less than a day. I was thoroughly fascinated with his many mannerisms and habits. It was like studying an exotic animal which I suppose is exactly what boys where to me. Every little detail was vital information.

It had been about an ten minutes since we left his family’s house and we hadn’t said much from the time we had gotten into his car through the small amount of time that we had been driving. “So, your sister seemed very sweet.” He smiled, “I noticed that his front teeth were slightly crooked but not enough to be immediately noticeable and the way small creases appeared on the side of his eyes when he smiled. “She’s an ugly little devil really.” I laughed, “Well that’s a funny thing to say. She looks a lot like you.” He put one of his hands up to his chest in mock outrage. “Nah, we’re actually pretty damn close.” He placed his large hand back on the steering wheel, wrapping his long slender fingers around its leather surface. “How many siblings do you have?” I was surprised by his reply, “Nine, what about yourself?” “I don’t have any, did you say nine!? Did they all live with you?” His shoulders shook when he laughed. “I only lived with six of them.” All of a sudden he looked pensive. “What about the other two?” He sighed. “They left.” I was curious about his choice of words. So they left instead of moved out. I looked away from the man and out of the window at the passing rural landscape. ”They did exactly what we’re doing now didn’t they?” I could see him put a hand through his hair in the dim reflection on the car window. “Yeah, they did. It broke my parent’s hearts when they did.” I looked back at his now sullen face. “I feel terrible. Maybe I shouldn’t have dragged you in to this.” He looked at me through the rear view mirror with a weak but genuine smile. “Now don’t you worry little gal. Maybe they’ll be upset but the thing is, they don’t understand that people grow up and they have their own ambitions in life. The things that make them happy just weren’t the same case for us and my dad, well, he just don’t understand that and my ma, well she don’t understand anything he don’t. They fear and don’t respect anything they don’t know.”

I pulled my knees up to my chest. “Have you heard from them since they left?” His face was like it was before we were friends, expressionless. “Well, not really. Mom and Dad refused to open any mail they sent once they left. All I could do was send to them but who knows if they even got them. I remember when Willow left and Van did the same thing. He used to get so frustrated about the whole thing.” An idea materialized in my head. “Well maybe we can look them up!” He scoffed, “Do you know how much work that would be? I have no idea where they might be. We would literally have to go to every state and look up every Willow and Van Scott in the entire state.” I shrunk, “Oh...” We sat in silence until he spoke once again. “Don’t feel bad little gal, it really wasn’t a bad idea… I think it might actually be a possibility. My uncle Royal lives in New Mexico. If anyone knew where those two are, it would be him… I’d say it’s worth a try.” I was ecstatic about his change of heart. I grinned at him through the rear view mirror and even though he hadn’t been looking into the mirror, I knew he saw. He grinned back and his green eyes lit up like ocean water on a sunny day. “So, our first target huh?” He slowly nodded his head “Well, let’s say our second. It’ll be a few days trip I say so I propose that our first target be to find a nice big field, pitch that tent of yours and get some shut eye and start up in the morning.” I faked a yawn. “I think that’s a great idea.” He laughed at my horrible attempt and we continued to drive down the road in search of a place where we could slumber under the gentle light of the stars.