‘/’

The sun rose over the desert red and orange through the half empty bottle of Jose Cuervo. As she lay sleeping the cold light sparkled like stars in her earring. I eased my self off the flat bed of her Ford and put on my pants. 

My pack was resting against the wheel of the truck. I pulled out my little coffee pot and filled it with water from the canteen. I stirred embers resting under the ash of last night’s mesquite fire and added more twigs. By the time the coffee was boiling she awoke.

We sat by the fire drinking coffee milked with memories of what we did with each other last night. She huddled knees up. Her hair was pulled to one side and draped black against the red of her serape. Her brown eyes, her oval face blushing in the chill, and her full lips kissing the brim of the cup, were all turned toward me. 

“Are you warm enough?” I asked.

“No, but I like mornings in the desert. Everything feels new.”

“It is beautiful here. The colors are amazing and the sky is so big.”

“It’s all I’ve ever known. I can’t compare it to anywhere else. Not like you.”

“The road isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. It gets old quick.”

She was quiet so I tried to take it all in. A beautiful woman, desert, fading stars, coffee and mesquite in the air. I wanted to keep this in my mind for ever.

“I’m not this kind of girl,” she said. “I didn’t think so anyway. I know it’s no big deal for you.”

I wasn’t used to guilt in the morning. I took her in my arms.

“Do you regret it?” I asked. 

“Not right now, but I will.”

“You shouldn’t. We shared something special. We will always have it.”

“I don’t think it’s special if I never see you again. It was only chance you passed this way. You might not ever again.”

Tears glistened on her long black lashes and rolled down her cheek. I gently kissed her trembling lips.

“That’s the point. You’re young. Lighten up. Someday, you won’t be able to do this kind of thing. You’re trying to understand it. You can’t. Don’t even try.”

“I guess,” she said. “I suppose we have to go.”

“I’m afraid so. I’ve got to catch the train in Winslow.