My Brother's Beaming

My older brother L has lived alone the majority of his adult life. He gardens. He preserves. He's a neat freak. A cook. A crossword puzzle junkie. An artist. A lineman. An outdoorsman. All these years I thought he liked it like that. Until yesterday. His eyes twinkled. He grinned. He wanted to talk about someone rather than the trivia he usually discusses with me. My brother is in love. At 59 he has found a soul mate. A woman who loves him just as he is. And he is smitten. Love softens people. Fills them with hope. He contemplates a different future now. He left today to Europe for a month to see his son. A month away from the Beam Source.