California

they knew each other for so long their identities fused knowing since they grew up next to each other every thought and grimace the other had

when they moved to the city Los Angeles the dense sprawl next to the pacific they took their Wisconsin roots stuffed deep in them

he worked on cars his clear blue eyes never flinching working all day and night oil and gas and engines painting the surface and scratching to make him bleed

while she waited on tables her farm bred looks clean and simple, pure loving kindness

they toiled until they were finished and at night in the wee hours they laid on the beach and tasted lemon and tobacco on each others' lips and tongues the ocean made short waves that -pushed the sand in small ripples forward

they loved the smell of the ocean and the smell of the other and they rested as the sun shone on the big Pacific holding each others fingers feeling what they knew what they wanted