A curly haired little boy with glasses and a toy train - corduroy pants, a polo shirt, and a knit sweater.
Another little boy with a buzz cut and a baseball cap - starter jacket, warm up pants, and a bouncy ball.
A rainy Sunday afternoon in a laundromat...
"Hi! Nathaniel! Hi - do you remember me?"
"Ummm... "
"Do you remember me? I was in the class with you..."
"Ummm...hmm, I don't know...? Which class?"
The boy in the baseball cap's dad interrupted and politely said to the boy with the curly hair, "I remember you." Turned to his son and said, "Nathaniel, he was in the class with Miss..."
The conversation trailed off as my dryer stopped. My clothes were still wet, so I dropped a few more quarters into the machine. Another 15 minutes to wait. I tuned back in as the boy with the curly hair was quietly returning to sit with his dad...
A few moments later, the boy with the baseball cap approached the boy with the curly hair.
"Oohhhh, I remember you." He said grinning with recognition, as the bouncy ball slipped from his hand and the boys began to play.
The boy in the baseball cap's dad approached, and the dads began to chat. They seemed to have a nice conversation, but soon their laundry was finished and it was time for the baseball capped boy and his dad to head home.
The boy with the baseball cap looked at the boy with the curly hair and threw himself at him with a giant embrace saying, "Byeeee!" The curly haired boy didn't seem to know what to do. As the boy in the baseball cap and his dad walked out the door, the curly haired boy turned to his dad looking confused and kind of giddy. The curly haired boy's dad sort of shrugged/smiled, looked up ... and caught me smiling too.
:)
