And here we are again, sitting in this old decaying theater, waiting for the show to begin. Although we are sitting side by side, I swear there is a draft. Oh. That’s just your sighs. This place is empty and I wonder why we still come here, year after year. You know they’ve built a new place? Oh, the “fuck you” face. Never mind, this place is fine. Finally, the curtain is up and for a moment, the bright lights feel so good. I stand in my place and my eyes never see your face as you stare to the crowd below. Well, what do you know? You can smile. Even just for show.

You take my hand in time with the band starting the first song. The first dance, another chance, to prove again I’m wrong. To show me as weak. To make you feel strong. And yes, oh yes, I play along. But my eyes never meet your eyes, and my steps are never out of line. We’ve done this dance forever now, your body pressed against mine. The lights shine, the crowd cheers, you spin me round as the finale nears. And then you whisper in my ear, “Smile my pretty. Be happy my dear”. What can I say? What can I do? I smile and wink as I look at you. I know in the end, it will be just us two.

And when the music is over and the lights grow dim, I feel the distance growing again. The curtain closes and we exit stage right. I use to have hope, we’d fall back in love one of those nights. But not tonight. Never tonight. I’ve tried to flee, I’ve started so many fights, but now I just follow, in your shadow every night. I smile to myself and slowly shake my head. I am always amazed that our performance is never flawed and even as we go outside the fans continue to applaud. Our show, they’ll never know that it is just a show. That WE are just for show.