“You’re the first person who has said that my eyes are green.”

“Of course they’re green.”

“My driver’s license says they’re gray.”

“What does the State of Washington know anyway?”

Part of getting to know someone, given enough time,
includes the physical things that no one says you’ll notice
things like:

the gaze from her eyes,
her jump up and down when she’s extra happy or excited,
when she sticks her tongue out which means too many things to count

like that time shortly after she met my dad and sat rapt, perfectly straight,
listening to his stories which he told with detail because he too noticed
that she wrapped him in her full attention

or that time when she bit into a chunk of roasted garlic
so smooth and creamy, salty, full of flavor
and she smiled with pure ecstasy while she
waved me away from the rest of the garlic

or that time we were eating dinner at her house
a dinner date very early on
and she casually perched her phone on the table as if
doing something else but she took my picture

She thought I didn’t notice, okay I didn’t at the time
but I did notice her expression with mischief.

Many years ago as I waited outside a restaurant I saw
a woman next to me call out to a man walking toward her

“Oh, that walk,” she said. He came near and kissed her
They went inside

I couldn’t understand then how his walk got her attention
I do now.

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