The Look

In my last post I wrote about certain things I’d like at my wedding reception. Towards the end I had mentioned also wanting “The Look.” I’m not referring to the song by Ryan Tedder, I’m talking about the look that will stay with you forever. Eternally etched into your mind and will serve as a constant reminder of a moment in time when you truly felt at peace. I wouldn’t even be able to begin to describe to you exactly what it would look like, because it’s different for everyone. It’s almost like a secret message that is out for everyone to see, but you’re the only one who knows how to read it. You’ll know it when you see it. The look itself isn’t nearly as important as what you felt when you first saw it. The funny thing is, you won’t even realize you’ve felt anything until long after the moment has passed. It’ll hit you later as you lay in bed, recollecting every detail of the night you just had.

You were at the beach, celebrating a mutual friend’s birthday. You’d be one of the first few people there, enjoying yourselves and each other’s company. You’ll suddenly realize that more people had arrived and what was at first an intimate gathering between friends had rapidly turned into a flurry of introductions. “Hey man, when did you get here?” Eventually each of you begin to strike up conversations with different sets of friends, slowly separating yourselves from each other. Though, she never leaves your mind, and you’re constantly trying to spot her in the midst of the celebration. Your friends light the bon fire and bring out the drinks. Every couple of minutes you scan the vicinity, making sure she hadn’t had too much already. You’ll enjoy a few drinks yourself along with your buddies, and eventually the alcohol slowly distracts you from what you were so preoccupied with earlier. At some point through the night, as you’re laughing with your friends, you’ll look off into a random direction. Then you’ll see it. Your natural reaction is to look away and hope to God she hadn’t caught you staring. But it was too late. You know it, and she knows it. Time slows down and your eyes linger. As soon as your eyes met you were so overwhelmed with emotion that you froze. You’ll subtly smile at each other and continue on with your respective conversations. The funny thing is, neither of you will even realize you’ve felt anything until long after this moment has passed.