Listen, I know it’s been hard. I know we never go out dancing like we used to.

She was mad. He couldn’t even remember why. Sometimes she just woke up that way. And she always looked ugly when she was mad.

MARTIN AND ANDREA BY DAVID MILLER 34THPARALLEL MAGAZINE ISSUE 01

They took their coffee mugs to the front of the café. Andrea chose two seats looking out the southern window, then turned so she was facing Martin. Martin sat looking straight out the window. A couple of young hippies were out front. They had wrenches and were doing something to their bikes. One of them had a big sheath strapped to his belt but the knife was missing. What kind of person wore a sheath with no knife?

Andrea chewed her cookie. Peanut butter. They didn’t eat peanut butter back in her home country. When she’d met Martin, and asked about what he ate back home and he’d told her, peanut butter. “Everyone grows up eating it,” he’d said. Now it had become her favorite food.

Martin kept his eyes off her. She was mad. He couldn’t even remember why. Sometimes she just woke up that way. And she alw…