"Just a Kiss"

by Paloma

 

"You must remember this…a kiss is just a kiss…"

 

until it became a silken web,

encasing Starsky to his core.

 

**********************************************

Rain,  a billowing curtain

across the window,

He stands,  his breath,  distressed,  fogs the pane,

cold air wraps around him and stays.

 

Palms massage eyes,  parched and hungry  for sleep.

************************************************

How did it come apart?

Like a random thread unraveling his

striped sweater..once started…impossible to stop..

"Was I a random choice?"

 

Her laugh,  a Christmas handbell,

singing in his ears,

Her scent,  hidden in the brown,   polished skin, 

a rush of faint cinnamon

 

Late shifts,  supper at midnight

Rendezvous by the shore at daybreak

 

He needing,  wanting to touch,

Her scheming to be one….

Murmured endearments,

 

"No….when I do…I want to make love to my wife"

A tempest across her features

 

"Hell hath no fury…"

 

now shrieked accusations,  tears,  apologies,

words pelting him,  he bleeds

"Who are you?"

 

She is….

dangerous notes at his door,

 ringing phone….hangups,

calls to his Captain….

cut tires,

every imagined shadow….her silhouette

 

Hutch's counsel…"let it go"…"let me handle it"..

"You're too close"

 

"When a lovely flame dies,  you must realize,

smoke gets in your eyes…"

 

Starsky could not see…

A scene as ancient as Joseph and Potiphar's wife…torn white gown,  a revealed breast….rape….she said…he said…

department suspension

 

********************************************

Palms once again push against his eyes…headlights…

his partner is here

 

*******************************************

Best friend,  his strength during the upheaval, 

the attack on his character,  when Starsky was trapped in

the eye of her storm…

"Hutch,  my rock"  ….his lifeline as he spiraled downward,

unable to stop,

unable to get a foothold

 

Determined devotion,

background checks……. overseas calls….

Brazil,

deportation…..colossal paperwork

 

************************************************

 

A slight rap on the door,  Hutch,  walks in,

soaked shoes squeak on the linonleum,

a compassionate hand on a chilled shoulder,

"It's over,  buddy,  she's gone"

 

The  web is cast off.

 

 

 

 

Proverbs 18:24

…..there is one who sticks closer that a brother

 

 

 

Back to Paloma's Page

Home