Intimacy

We were at the theatre to watch a play

a drama

i cannot even recall the name

as the drama unfolding before my eyes

was much more

dramatic

as we prepared to take our seats

at the start of the play

a couple swept past us to find theirs

i only caught the back of their heads

i watched them

as they made their

way down the ailes

finally found their seats next to another couple

seems they were friends

and then it happened

they all stood up to exchange pleasantries

and the man, during the conversation,

put his hand on the small

of the other lady's back

just above the rise

and left it there

for far too long it seemed to me

it seemed too

familiar

like it had been there before

her husband could not see

nor could his wife

as they were all facing forward

but i could see enough

for all of us

i held my breath

i waited for the hand to move

but still he held it there

daringly

finally as the lights dimmed

he removed it

and she did not flinch

like she had had it there before

like it belonged there

like she liked it there

i wonder if he knew

her husband, that is

that when he went to work

his friend

had his hand

on the small of his wife's back

and i wonder if she knew

the wife

that her husband

had his hand on her friend's back

and held it there

Drama.