It happened Saturday, April 16 at 5:15PM. I was standing by the curb waiting for my Uber, and he was getting off the bus with his friends. As he stepped through the door down onto the street our eyes locked, and neither of us could let go. An ecstatic love was present and we both recognized it instantly.
He turned from his friends and came over to me. He paused, then smiled and said, "I like what you've done with your hair." I beamed and said, "You too." Then we watched each other over our shoulders until he rounded the corner and was gone.
I, a 61-year-old white woman sporting shaved gray hair and a pink sweatshirt, and he, a teenaged black youth sporting a skull cap and a ribbed tank top, both sincerely recognized that we knew and loved each other. And it was just so shockingly beautiful.