I still smile when I think about you.

It was freezing but neither of us noticed, at least not I.

Earlier-3:17 PM - We arrived at the house, exhausted from more than eight hours of travel. I could've gotten it in under six hours but just the idea of a roadtrip with her, I could've driven slower & stopped at every gas station. Eight hours, 10 hours, 24 hours, I didn't care that I was tired, and hungry, and had a headache, anything to stretch time.

I got out and walked around the car to let her out. I can't remember the last time I opened a car door for her. Oh yeah, her wedding day. I opened the door was her dress, bright white, princess cut gown, with pearl beadings and an empire waist, well, she couldn't really move that much in that dress. It was too poofy and tight in all the right places. It must've weighed a ton! I didn't just have to open the door for her, I had to pull her out of the car too. I think that dress was suffocationg her. She looked beautiful, despite the fact that she's hiding that scowl of discomfort.

Not a single cloud in the sky, rays of sunshine peeking through the trees, one struck her eye and she squinted. There it is! Just under her left eye. A dimple. She hated it. I never understood why. I always thought it was cute.

What am I doing here? What is she doing here with me? We were alone for the holidays. Well, She wasn't technically. Her husband's away on a trip. I was alone, family's away, girlfriend nonexistent (at the moment), I had nobody. I had only her, that night was mine.

He just looked at me while I told him about it. We were friends, her and I. We didn't have an affair or whatever he wanted to call it. I was in love with her.

He took a puff on his cig and said "yeah, and she's in love with you."

"she's?" She is? Or she was? Whatever.

The truth is, it was a beautiful night. It was freezing but neither of us noticed, at least not I. Somewhere along the park she lost her barrette and her hair was whipping all over the place. The moonlight illuminated the radiance of her face. Without hesitation, I told her I love her. And for a moment, a single miniscule moment, it might have happened. We had a great time.

When we got back to the house it was filled with flowers. They were from her husband. There was a note. She wouldn't let me read it. Something in the note made her smile a little, then suddenly laugh. She just sat there and laughed and laughed. That's when I realized I'd lost her.

We're friends. Close friends. After that, closer, if that's even possible. She is in love with her husband. Never one second, not a single second, that that wasn't the truth.

He looked away from the ongoing traffic down on the curvy roads of the mountain and shifted his gaze at me.

"Were they daisies?" he asked.
"Because he would bring her home daisies sometimes"


Yes, they were daisies.