she saw a dark lump on the sidewalk leading to her apartment, and worried it was another dead cat. happily, she realized it was only her favorite brown sweater, which she had dropped there nine hours earlier.
the concrete porch steps were cold and grey, as concrete is. she wasn't bothered by the chill because she knew that very soon she'd be wrapped up in him and his woolen coat. they both hoped he wouldn't have to wear it much longer. the muddy, thawing ground promised them that spring was coming.
they snuggled into each other the way teenagers do when the clock is ticking towards curfew. they both made honest efforts to make their short time count, but she knew that out of the ten minutes promised, she would only get eight. he always spent the last moments worrying about his wife. she couldn't imagine that a few minutes would hide his infidelity, but knew it was useless to try to bring him back to the present moment.
she was lucky this time, almost. even after he said he was going, he held her and kissed her hair. he made soft, sweet sounds that she pretended were only for her ears. when he finally stood to go, her heart and mind were still in his embrace. she wasn't thinking of the two-minute rule, and how awful it could be.
"i wish we could spend our lives together," she murmured.
"yeah. which way to the highway again?"
thing 2
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