Two

I see her as I park my dented, grey car in the circle of light that shines on the empty pavement. I've never seen her before, and I wonder if she's half of the new couple across the street. I curiously watch the rearview mirror as she walks toward me.

Her long, brown hair is pulled into a loose ponytail that flicks at the collar of her pink blouse. Her face is young. She carries herself with confidence, and she gently tosses her hair with the flirtatious air of a beautiful woman. She is flanked by dark houses on her right and empty cars on her left. Her low-cut top and loose pants flatter her graceful body.

She pauses at the mouth of the alley, then she stands in a way that tells me she's not my new neighbor. I get out of my car and lift my backpack onto my shoulder. She watches me, and I watch her. We speak at the same time. I have no idea what she said, so I tell her I'm good and ask her how she is. She looks at me blankly. Obviously, I said the wrong thing.

I cross the street toward my house. She watches me. I realize that I've left something in the car, so I turn back. She watches me. I open my car door and reach inside. She speaks to me, softly, delicately.

"Do you want some company?"

I smile at her and tell her not tonight. I thank her. My smile is genuine, but she doesn't care. She turns and walks down the alley.

Only one of the women who worked here last year is still around. I wonder what's happened to the rest of them: the blonde who reminded me of my crazy ex-girlfriend, the brunette who claimed to be a woman of God, the redhead who hung her head as a burly cop helped her into the back of his beat-up police cruiser. I wonder who is in jail, who moved away, who cleaned up. I wonder who is dead.

An expensive SUV parks in front of my cheap, compact sedan. Three attractive young people get out and walk toward the bar on the corner. The woman's long, brown hair is pulled into a loose ponytail that flicks at the collar of her pink blouse. Her face is young. She carries herself with confidence, and she gently tosses her hair with the flirtatious air of a beautiful woman. She is flanked by a blonde man on her right and a brown-haired man on her left. Her low-cut top and tight pants flatter her graceful body.

The threesome pauses at the door of the bar, then they pass over the threshold to the good times that await. The street is quiet again. The little black cat who I've befriended appears at the mouth of the alley, then he turns and runs away. A breeze gently drifts down the block. I walk to my front door. I pause, then I pass over the threshold to the good times that await.