"The Decorative Arts" by Lauren Hilger

An old woman with a slept-on curl setremoves dollar bills from a white envelope.Think of the times I've paid for coffeeand left without, dropped my sunglassesface down, how I've called someone mom,tasted something illicit. I leave the caféto sit outside a movie theater, beside a rowof mums, yellow as my grandmother's ideas.The sun's strong, October, not many outside.The woman I'm here to meet was in a movie;I saw it at this theater. When she arriveswe speak of a cherry desk, of personal letters,a secret in each drawer, a ring of keys.