The Car Ride

Sitting in the car

Waiting for traffic to move

The cold rain tumbling down the window

The drops collide into a single lane.

Inside my dad and I wait in the warm heat.

We probably just left to get pizza,

Or Chinese food,

A regular Friday night.

The sound of the radio hums softly in the background

Over the soft rumbling of the engine.

The drumming of the rain matches my fingers.

Not a word is spoken

Between my dad and I,

Each of us sucking up the silence.

Breathing peacefully.

Over the radio comes a song.

A little old, though well known.

Ee-e-e-um-um-a-weh

Wimoweh, wimoweh, wemoweh, wimoweh.

We both know the song.

Grinning we turn the radio up.

Singing along. Dancing along.

Um-um-a-weh.

With each beat of the drum

My dad touches the brake.

Quickly, rapidly

Making the car jerk.

The car behind us honks the horn.

Making us laugh harder.

My dad persists.

Continuing in this child's play.

Suddenly it doesn't matter that,

that it is pouring, or

that we are stuck in traffic.

It only matters that we're having fun.

The song ends.

The radio gets turned back down.

We return to our former silent state.