Miles of Love
© 1997 Don Rogers
My father and I had a signal that we could give each other. Three hand squeezes meant "I love you." Two squeezes in reply were the question, "How much?" The final squeeze in reply was "This much!" with either the force or the length being the real answer.
We were going somewhere in the car. I was sitting beside him and he took my hand and started the signal, "I love you." "How much?" I squeezed back. "This much" he answered and I watched the mileage turn on the odometer as a measure of the time.
Then it was my turn to say "I love you" and his turn to ask "How much?" And I squeezed, "This much." I squeezed and held on watching the mileage meter turn and I held on to beat his and I grabbed his hand with both my hands and held on and on. "This much, this much, this is how much I love you!"