Downtown Stroll

Maybe if we hadn't said goodbye on the 6th, the green sofa would have been at your father's. But now it sits inside a deli near Broadway.

Returning home with tired eyes, I periodically clutched my chest trying to grip onto the remains of the happiness that I once felt.  Walking the route that used to be "our" route from the Park I am visited by Dante-like reminders of my pain. First, it's Pavel who is beaming at me while he prepares a floral arrangement. He speaks of a Peruvian flower that he recently acquired. For the last 9 days you've been on vacation visiting your brother in Marquette as far as Pavel is concerned. Speaking the truth to Pavel would make our separation final and grant my pain a witness, so I continue to buy "our" flowers and you continue to be in Michigan.

Heading past my old building before I moved in, I hear a familiar " hey" and turn around to Mr.Voorhees. His frown melts into a smile and I give him a hug. His feigned anger and my subsequent faux-pleas for forgiveness are part of a routine we've had where he's still refused to forgive me for leaving.