They sat next to each other, strangers living in their own worlds, and he fell asleep and when he woke she was smiling and she said, Thanks.

He struggles up the mountain. Believe in the journey, he tells himself. Then he imagines his girlfriend’s breasts. And the struggle is gone.

The meal felt like an affirmation. I’m not religious, she said. I didn’t say communion, he said. And the food grew cold. Unlike their ardor.

When he got all philosophical on her, she mentally shut off. The store is closed, she said. He hugged her then. You’re brilliant, he replied