He reached blindly for the doorknob and let his hand rest,
pausing just a moment to remind himself of the things in life to savor.
With a flick of his wrist
he felt the cool brass slide easily under his grip.

Immediately he met the nearest box with a thump,
nothing was where it was supposed to be,
she was four feet in the air when he entered and he startled her,
(she was always startled so easily).
She jumped nearly another inch.

Light bulb in hand and swaying, she was ­perpetually taciturn – but they had other ways of speaking.
She looked down at him,
small, light eyes which recent age and weather had robbed of much of their brightness
but none of their penetration.

He looked up at her and all was silent
still, he listened with the dulled ear of ­someone about to get conned
and knew it.
He pulled off his coat and expressed himself ready and willing to tempt fate in her place.

They switched standings.
As he began to turn the bulb miles above,
she considered perhaps this was what all ­human relationships boiled down to: would you save my life? or would you take it?

At least this time, the answer was clear
and the light went on.