Winding Down

Sundown.
That crimson hour when life’s
debris settles in for the night.
We’ve not spoken in a long while.
Days, actually, as I keep score.
“I want out” she says in confident voice.
My eyes take in her essence as I fake
surprise. She looks away. I lean in.
Stroke her cheek with my finger like
she likes me to do and for the first
time in forever I sense a rush of
lavender in her hair.