II

I wonder now if the details of our coming together was a warning. I took no notice when it happened.

I met my friend for drinks one night. He introduced her as one of his girlfriends. I told my jokes badly. She laughed anyway.

I stood at the bar. She came and stood beside me. I told her my name was Marc, she told me hers was Jane. I knew her real name; she knew mine.

I started to see a lot more of my friend. When she wasn’t with him he told me that she said hello.

If the coin read heads I would drink. If the coin read tails I answered a personal question. I flipped the coin. I swallowed a mouthful of beer. She flipped the coin. Her answer was “That’s harsh hey!”, she locked eyes with me and left the table.

She told me she didn’t want to complicate things. I told her that I liked who I was when I was around her.

There was someone after my friend and before me. She told me later that she wasn’t sure we would get together.

We had dinner and I didn’t talk. Her nervous reaction complimented mine and she talked until I kissed her. From then on she only smiled.

My friend took it very badly. They were still together when I asked her the question. I think she took it too literally considering how things are now.

I asked “What is the one thing that you want but you know you can never have?"