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Isn't It Pretty?

"Isn't it pretty to think so?"

She threaded her fingers into his hair. It was dark and smelled musky like it needed to be washed soon. She rested her nose on the top of his head.

"Pretty to think what?" he asked.

"To think that this," she gestured with a shrug "will not last."

He pulled away from her,"But I wanted it to last."

He looked at her, eyes wide and clear.

"This is the worst day of my life. Why do you think it's pretty?"

He pulled back even further the lines of his face etched deeply between his brows.

"I just thought--I mean it's pretty to think there will never be another moment like this again. Even if it's horrible, it's pretty to think you can never lose him again. The way you feel will never happen again."

She looked at him and reached out again, but this time he pulled away and pressed his back firmly against the worn brown couch.

"I can't believe--I mean I understand but don't say those things to me when--" Jacob's voice broke.

He got up and moved toward the kitchen. His dad had left dishes in the sink from the night before. The trash was full and smelled of ripe oranges. Jacob grabbed the red plastic handles and cinched the bag tight locking out the smell. Dana stood in the doorway, her mouth about to open until she saw the closed tight white line of his mouth.

He walked past her to the back door, wordless.

She looked around and finally walked toward the sink, pushed the sleeves of her beige sweater up, and turned on the faucet. The sound of the running water echoed in the silence and sounded even louder once the door closed. She ran her fingers under the water to test the temperature, gasped, and pulled away. Her skin scalded.

"Leave them. I'll clean-up."

"No, I want to help--I want..." her voice trailed off.

The water still ran in the background. She grabbed a sponge and squirted soup on it.

"I said leave it!"

Dana turned and looked at him. His face was red and pinched. Saliva gathered in the corners of his mouth. Without saying a word she turned back toward the sink and grabbed a food crusted dish. She felt his hand on her shoulder tighten as he spun her around
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