Broken Black Varnish Requiem 2

Alex blows out some smoke, sitting with a towel wrapped around his bruised head and he still has his glasses on which makes me grin and he watches me just run around the garden in swirls as I start laughing and I stop as a man jumps up and grabs the wooden fence to hold and he grins.

I see Alex’s mental note to make the fence higher.

“Hi.” I say first, feeling a strap become a bit lose on my shoulder and look at his black curls and he notices Alex and also starts smoking.

“Hi, neighbors.” And he salutes for whatever reason and he and Alex blow out smoke at the same time, I quickly glance at Alex and his fringe which is dropped low onto his glasses due to the towel and I back off and soon enough a red haired little girl chips up, most likely the man is holding her.

“Hi!” and then Alex waves and stands up, holding the cigarette in his teeth, failing to exhale properly so on his way here he drops the cigarette and I kiss him briefly, taking off his glasses and putting them on myself.

“Hi.” Alex says and the girl stretches out her arm.

“I’m Jack.” The curly haired man says as he also drops his cigarette and I look at how pale he is and how his eyebrows look and how mature he looks unlike Alex who looks forever seventeen.

By the end of the meet, Alex fails to light a cigarette as we head inside and he swears, looking up and blowing too much smoke that it circles and becomes a fog and I just sit on the floor.

“Look, stop, being so jealous.” I say and I imagine myself eating an apple as I say that but I can’t be bothered to wash one and Alex just presses his nose against the kitchen tiles and kisses his reflection to give me more love as I laugh and he washes an apple for me as I hug him from behind and he eases.

“I’m just always scared of losing you, Alison.”

“I know, same.” And we stand like that eating the apple as we hear the child smile from the fence, watching what marriage looks like.

Broken Black Varnish Requiem 3