Who are they trying to fool?
These rookies know nothing of love.
They share coffee and misery
Shoptalk of the things they hate
The people, the politics
The stress, the strain
How things will never be the same.
She peppers her queries
Like a tentative cook
“Who are you seeing?”
“Why or why not?”
He oblivious.
He was never taught
The subtleties of a prowling woman.
Both worry about money
And where it will come from next.
How they don’t get enough
And too much goes to their ex.
They are beleaguered and torn apart
The corporate world they fight in
No doubt they are both smart,
Except for matters of the heart.
Sometimes their voices grow softer
As if to flirt with the idea of something more.
Clear to those who look on
That he’s the one she adores.
He knows none of this.
Focused on his task
Complaining, moaning
He's a pain in the ass.
Eventually they step outside the cafe
Into the darkness illuminated by the moon
And framed by a wall of glass.
They are ready to part
To finish the night and prepare for another day
But she finds words
That compel him to stay
And then they embrace,
Like colleagues who’ve been through hell
And lived to share their tales.
But it lingers
Longer.
She does not release
The embrace
Makes his insistent talking cease.
He stumbles backward,
Stammers and smiles.
She lets him go
The way a fisherman makes good sport.
She turns to her car and says goodnight
He may be hooked,
Maybe shook,
But he will not sleep well tonight.
And we, us seasoned romantics
Alone in the cafe with our pens and words
And empty cups long grown cold
Witnessed it and know
Whatever it will become
Would never have begun
Without her.
