“So what’s going on downtown?”

“I work here, you know.”

Cue blank stare, then smiling.

“How about a smoke, then?”

My turn to stare, now.

Disbelief, then a little confusion.

It’s like we’ve never met.

She may not remember me…

But how could I forget?

The last name was familiar.

The way her face scowled.

Strange, how people pass through.

In and out of here.

Always on their way back.

Still, every moment is new.

So that’s how we behave.

Like every word can matter.

Past patterns may feel familiar.

But this moment, uniquely ours…

This time will be different.