delay

i have known him for twenty two years, the older man who attends my church with his wife. they both have always been so kind to me. how do they find me in that sea of churchgoers? i have missed many a service at church, hundreds even. but for all the times i’ve shown up i have not ever escaped without a hug from him. really tight hugs that over the years have managed to comfort me, then freak me out, then annoy me, and now they comfort me again. and lately every sunday i show up i notice that he is really getting older. and who’s to say that this sunday’s hug won’t be our last? because his skin is sinking and he’s lost weight and he doesn’t have it in him to find me each week anymore. so now i find him. because i’m no good with goodbyes.