She stands on her tippey toes to kiss me under the glow of Christmas lights.

I haven’t slept with intertwined fingers in ages and I feel a bloom within me.

Waiting for a call but walking in the meantime. Sketching out long words on waterlogged sheets.

My dad calls her “darlin’” and she tells him to back up his stories of playing pro darts.

Loose eyelash wishes and morning cups of coffee in bed. Painted ornaments and the breadth of a future cast across the quiet moments in between laughs.

I stood bowed with water rushing over my shoulders. She lathered shampoo into my hair and no questions existed within me.

There’s an air of familiar, but I know I haven’t been here before.