First Date

I am glad for my coat as the cold air nips at my skin. It is an unexpected wake-up call for the hair on the back of my neck; they stand up gruffly. Fickle mistresses these streets of San Francisco. They feign warmth, lure you outside and then turn on you. Maybe its my fault. Maybe I should have chosen the familiar confines of Moose's over Gary Danko's. Does she think I am trying too hard? But she did suggest the walk to the oceanfront afterward. Standing close to me she shivers a trendy little shiver in her off-shoulder Donna Karan Blouse. I will offer her my coat in a minute, but not just yet. She is a vision in the light of the setting sun. She knows it and she knows I know it, but I can't give her the satisfaction... not yet. This is a game after all. Maybe someday, when we are in couples therapy to prevent our impending divorce, I'll tell her and we'll have a breakthrough. Maybe. But in this moment I'm burying a time capsule in my sulci with this image of her sealed within. "Would you like my coat?...