When I get off the bus he is there, standing in the cold. The steam of his breath rises and mixes like cream in the dark coffee sky. It is two o'clock in the morning and though I woke him from a sound sleep, he is here for me. He stands with that hat on, smiling. He raises his arm and waves. To an observer, admiring this scene like a priceless work of art, it looks as though he is my father, and I am his daughter, and everything is fine. This thought passes through my head and I smile. Then I remember, and the picture is lost under the blur of my tears. c



* Editor's Note: "Dum spiro spero" is Latin for "While I breathe, I hope" which happens also to be a motto of South Carolina.