M O N D A Y . D E C E M B E R . 2 8 T H . 1 9 9 8

Lovers walked hand in hand feeling full and alive with deep genuine smiles broadcasting their delight. Today, a bright, brisk, cold and dry winter early afternoon, a weekday, normally a day for studious work softened by this playful encounter.

Their hands met dressed in leather, his brown and hers gray, they had fit perfectly together with or without fingers entwined. Something familiar there in their similar gaits and unspoken desires they walked the Upper East Side streets with loosely planned destinations. Conversation had been easy yet not plentiful as there was more said between the words, knowing smiles and enveloping silences.

He asked her of her intentions and or plans and she replied vaguely singing about the joy of the moment verses that the heaviness of the outcome. He really wanted to know how long she had planned to stay and if he were to be a passing curiosity or temporary amusement for her convenient diversion. She wanted him to be happy and free, she wanted him not to think but to feel and react to her warmth and kindness. He felt he knew of her desires but he just wanted to make sure but he also did not want to look away and bit his lip if she were to walk away, without ever looking back. She was just that kind of woman and he admired her because of it. He envied her freedom and life free of the complexities his life and choices had provided him.

S O F T . L E A T H E R . N O N - B I N D I N G