in the night

She felt like a woman who'd been told she was loved, by a man she didn't know. It had been years they’d been together and more years they’d been apart. She’d never understood how the silence had grown between them. The burning of her cigarette was often the only sound in the room heavy with night. Some evenings when she woke, she could see his outline against the glass of the windowpanes and knew that he had not slept.

He pulled her close as they walked on the cobblestone streets, fog dampening the sounds of their boots on the stones. She kept with his quick pace. With steps taken in time, they hurried towards the town center, hoping to arrive before dawn. She slowed as they turned the corner and saw the lights through the thickening fog. It wouldn’t be long now.

Muffled voices came from the alleyways as they moved closer to the cars. Lights became brighter but those standing in the darkness did not move. She could hear the tires roll across the wet pavement as the fog turned to rain.

With a firm hand he guided her towards the door of the black limousine. With no sound, the back door swung open. Without a glance, she ducked in and quickly pulled the door closed. He stood and fumbled in his pocket for a cigarette, when he remembered it had been years since he’d smoked. She had always had that effect on him.

©2007