Such a lovely moment in the airport to see the couple stop and kiss. In the spontaneous moment, their children take a few more steps, then turn to look up at the tastefully entwined tower of their parents, and make various faces. Then Dad nods for the kids to follow and walks on. Mom blushes for a moment, resting a hand to her cheek like someone might in a commercial.
The young twins–or at least identically dressed-and-sized kiddos–discover the moving sidewalk. They weigh sending their stuffed animals on an experimental journey along the handrail. They glance forward and back, measuring how long they may need to wait if their giraffe tumbles off. Would there be time to retrieve him? How much distance to wait through before they could hop off the sidewalk and race back for a rescue? They survey their surroundings–strangers slumped on both sides of the walkway, busy flight attendants rolling black suitcases, people sitting on the floor to charge electronic devices. The twins opt to keep a firm grip on their stuffed animals until the last 5 feet. Making silent plans, as a few feet above their parents share a loving gaze.
A woman in front of them in Shapeups sneakers with their wedged soles, rocks forward and back in anxious preparation at the robotic overhead caution: “The moving walkway is coming to an end. Please watch your step.” She leans into the end and giggles in an echo when she wobbles away safely. Her self-protecting laugh distracts the twins, who clutch their animals against their grins and accept an offered hand from each parent.
–Denver International Airport, Colorado.
Two of my sisters. The twins.
