Neverland

He's forgotten his keys again, so we opt to walk. The moon blowing a cool in the air and you can hear people in the bars laughing in the distance. It was still early--20 minutes to last call. It had rained, the sidewalks dark with light reflection. 

He steps up on the curbs of the pathway, intertwining steps, up on the stoop and down on the walk, up on the stoop and back down again. His arms soaring at his aid, zooming like a plane, keeping balance. I brace my sweater acknowledging how summer feels really over, the nights cooler than ever. His wobbly legs, drunk over to me, stopping me where I stand.

"It's beautiful," he says, his lips meeting mine, "you're my beautiful." The softness and the smoke left over his lips sweep me into his arms, the embrace warming me instantly. 

He pulls away, his eyes widening like an owl's. "Come here," rising excitement in his voice. He grabs at my arm and tugs me over to a darken storefront. The shadows of neon lights saying "Arcade" and "Tokens" through the glass. 

He's moving swift with his hands, checking and emptying his pockets. 
"Yes," he excites, putting coins in the little red box and turns the key. The chains creak and the bouncing of plastic down shoot. He opens the door and pops out a little plastic bubble. Throwing the plastic on the ground, he sets his knee beside them. 

"Marry me."
​
I stand silently--no thoughts in my head, no words come to mind. I look at his hands and then look back at mine. A metal band over the ring of my left finger, a Tinker bell right in the center. 


xo
Paulina Tuy
​4/2015