She gave up. Honestly, what else was there to do? So she cleaned up the table set for two, she didn't even know why she bothered setting him a place any more, and went to their bedroom. Her bedroom. She walked into the closet, full of cloths she would never wear that he bought her on his trips, and went to the very back. Here she found a little dresser vanity that she'd brought from home. This is what you get for marrying a hero, she sighed to the dead cloths. She opened the drawers and pulled out cloths. What did she want this time? A black mini skirt, a red corset, heels that looked more like ribbons than shoes, and lots of eye makeup. Silver stud earrings and a matching snake bracelet and anklet set completed the look. A touch of dark red lipstick and a purse meant she was ready to go.
Down the elevator to the lobby, why couldn't he just buy a house like normal people, where she called up the cab. It wasn't a taxi at all, but a black car with no label but lots of chrome. "Same place as always," she said climbing in, and they drove off. She had herself some Champaign, and waited for the half hour trip to be done with. When the car finally stopped she stepped out and looked around, there was nothing to catch the eye, just dirty bricks and filthy sidewalks, no one was in sight. Taking a deep breath, she walked over to the solitary lamppost fighting back the oncoming night and touched it, murmuring, "bring me in." There was a familiar tug behind her fist and she was in.
Music pulsed hypnotically, with lights pulsing in time. Bodies swayed and rubbed coming together and apart in an animalistic attempt at human contact. Sweat and perfume and alcohol filled her nose as she smiled. She walked directly to the bar, ignoring any looks she may have had. A year ago she would've just danced, waiting for anyone to come out of the gloom and save her from her solitude. Faceless and nameless people danced and she moved from one to the next trying to find a spark of humanity. Now she went to the bar, found a whisky sour and a new concoction of who knew what. She took the whiskey first and, as she was sipping what turned out to be rum and something fruity, a voice said, "Well, what do you think?" She smiled. "Not my style, but good nonetheless," and she turned to face the voice. And there he was, blond hair, thin frame, and a black outfit made of something that hid as much as it revealed. "I missed you," he sighed as she pulled him into a hug, burrowing his nose into her hair. She smiled and playfully pushed him back so she could look at him. "You say that every time and yet you're here every night waiting for me, hoping I'll arrive," and she laughed a little when she said it. She didn't know if he did, but he said he did and it was good enough for her. "And I am so very disappointed when you don't," he pouted back at her. She laughed and kissed his lower lip, but thought about how much he meant it, "I missed you too," she sighed. He didn't ask what it was this time that drove her to him, what she needed now, what was wrong. He didn't ask and she never said anything if he did. She would just ask him to love her. And he did. Together they danced, in a crowd of anonymity and loneliness they knew each other, and were together. He whispered sweet nothings into her ear and she held back the regret and smiled and whispered right back. Night deepened and the early crowd left, replaced by the night group. The people who never went home when they could manage it, finding this niche of warmth seeking love that lives only through contact. She clung to him. Almost lost in her fear of home she held tighter and tighter, and he smiled, holding her and whispering beautiful things into her ear.
Finally she fell asleep in his arms, and he brought her out to the car that was waiting, lifted her in, and climbed in after her. She leaned on him and he whispered into her hair that he would never leave, that he would always love her. They arrived at the house and he carried her up to her room, changed her into pajamas, and lay her in the oversized bed. As he tucked her in he whispered into her ear, "If you asked, I would share your bed every night, I would hold you close, and tell you how beautiful you are. I would wait in anticipation for the meals you cooked me. I would take you with me wherever I had to go. If you asked, I would love you forever." As he walked out, he pretended not to hear her crying, knowing she would not ask