Once upon a time
I didn't expect the hello kiss on the mouth.
It had been so long (what, years?) since I last saw you
and we were never like that, that I recalled.
And you paid me all kinds of attention. Which I was just not used to.
But I admired you. You took chances, lived small, traveled well; a true adventurer.
You talked. You listened.
And then later, you smiled but I held your hand
and said "next time" with only a hint of smirk.
(The rest of it was fingers crossed.)
You repeated it, adding the question mark. "Next time?"
It was ok. I knew it anyway.
We lay there, listening to the first rain in months.
