Stop The World and Let Me Off
Smoke snakes up from the ashtray like a seductive belly dancer on ecstasy, while Patsy Cline tries to stop the world so she can get off.
The candlewick dress that adorns your legs seems inadequate, as the street light illuminates the Mandelbrot ice sculptures growing in the window.
The soft rasp as you slowly turn the page and stay lost in your land of make believe, is my cue.
"Goodnight," I say, as I lean in. The smell of tobacco and gin on your breath, and cheap foundation on your cheeks, is a familiar concoction that evokes feelings of comfort from years of being loved.
"Goodnight son".
My heart glowed.
A.T.G