We sat in the car
not passing a roach back and forth.
Nothing like that was happening at all.
“You should ask her out,” she said to me.
“That’s what she told me, too,” I replied quietly.
“Well, if she said it, I suspect that’s a pretty big hint.”
“Probably,” I watched the foot traffic.
It was a lovely day.

“There really seems to be a vibe there,” she suggested,
“If I’ve learned anything through all this,
it’s that you have to take the opportunities when they come. There might not be another.”
I nodded. Her husband had a limited lifespan.
She knew about jumping at opportunities.

“So where should you take her?” She wondered, “Someplace she’d feel comfortable. Maybe barbecue.”
“There’s a place in the West Village.”
“That sounds good! What have you got to lose?”
“The price of some barbecue, maybe.”
“That’s just pessimism talking,” she said.
“How about the loss of all hope and crushing defeat? How about that?”
She laughed. “There you go!”