The final hour

The first five left in one car earlier this morning. I went for a walk in the rain on the gravel trail and can back to find the last three, lounging on the couch in the living room. The kitchen counter cleaned and all our remaining food in one pile. Quiet and waiting for the hour to pass, and then load up in the second car and drive to the airport. The house wasn’t this quiet all week. Maybe at night, but even then it was still loud with the presence of breathing, all of us being together. More than half of us gone now, the magic let out of the door when they opened to leave like air out of a balloon. There are five more beers on the counter. We’ll leave them for the next guests.