Did You Lock the Back Door?

“Did you lock the back door?”

“I locked it twice.”

“Twice doesn’t mean anything if you didn’t turn the deadbolt.”

“I turned the deadbolt.”

“Did you hear it click?”

“I heard it click.”

“Then why does it feel open?”

“Because you always say that.”

“I say it when it’s true.”

“It’s not true tonight.”

“Tonight is when it’s most true.”

“You’re doing that thing again.”

“What thing.”

“The pacing in your voice.”

“You can hear pacing now?”

“I can hear when you’re trying not to.”

“Did you bring the folder?”

“I brought the folder.”

“The blue one.”

“There’s only one folder.”

“There were two.”

“There were never two.”

“There were when he was alive.”

“Don’t start.”

“I’m not starting, I’m checking.”

“Check something else.”

“Like what.”

“Like the windows.”

“They’re shut.”

“All of them.”

“All the ones that matter.”

“Which ones don’t matter.”

“The ones you keep opening in your head.”

“That’s not fair.”

“It’s accurate.”

“Did you call her.”

“I texted.”

“She doesn’t read texts.”

“She reads mine.”

“She reads yours because you don’t ask questions.”

“I asked one.”

“What did you ask.”

“I asked if she remembered the night.”

“Which night.”

“The night with the sirens.”

“There were a lot of sirens.”

“She knew which one.”

“And.”

“She said she remembers the sound more than the reason.”

“That’s not an answer.”

“It’s the only one we’re getting.”

“Did she say she was coming.”

“She said she might.”

“She always mights.”

“She always shows.”

“Not when it matters.”

“It matters differently to her.”

“It matters the same to everyone.”

“Not to him.”

“Don’t say him like that.”

“Like what.”

“Like he’s still listening.”

“He is.”

“That’s not funny.”

“I’m not laughing.”

“You’re smiling.”

“You can hear smiling now too?”

“I can hear when you’re lying.”

“Then you know I’m scared.”

“I know.”

“Then stop pushing.”

“If I stop, it all falls.”

“It already fell.”

“Not all the way.”

“What’s left.”

“Us talking.”

“That’s a thin beam.”

“It’s holding.”

“For now.”

“Did you bring the keys.”

“I brought the keys.”

“All of them.”

“The ring is heavy.”

“That doesn’t answer me.”

“They’re all there.”

“Even the small one.”

“The small one was lost.”

“It was found.”

“When.”

“After.”

“After what.”

“After the water went down.”

“You never told me that.”

“You never asked.”

“I asked everything.”

“You asked around it.”

“Where is it now.”

“In my pocket.”

“Why your pocket.”

“Because yours has holes.”

“That’s a joke.”

“It’s a reason.”

“Give it to me.”

“Not yet.”

“Why not.”

“Because once you have it, you’ll open it.”

“That’s the point.”

“The point is to wait.”

“For what.”

“For her.”

“She’s late.”

“She’s always late.”

“She’s never missed.”

“She missed the funeral.”

“She sent flowers.”

“Flowers don’t stand in the rain.”

“Nothing stood that day.”

“We did.”

“We hid.”

“We survived.”

“We left.”

“We came back.”

“Too soon.”

“Too late.”

“Listen.”

“I hear it.”

“That’s not thunder.”

“It’s a truck.”

“On this road.”

“Yes.”

“At this hour.”

“Yes.”

“Headlights.”

“I see them.”

“Do you.”

“Don’t do that.”

“Do you see them.”

“Yes.”

“Only one.”

“Yes.”

“Then it’s her.”

“How do you know.”

“She always drives alone.”

“She hates witnesses.”

“Open the door.”

“Wait.”

“Why.”

“Because if it’s not her.”

“It is.”

“Because if it’s not.”

“Then what.”

“Then we don’t open.”

“That’s not how doors work.”

“That’s how this one does.”

“It’s stopping.”

“I know.”

“Engine off.”

“I know.”

“Steps.”

“Slow.”

“She always walks slow.”

“She limps.”

“She learned.”

“Knock.”

“Three times.”

“She always knocks three times.”

“Open it.”

“You do it.”

“My hands are shaking.”

“So are mine.”

“Together then.”

“Together.”

“Hello.”

“You took your time.”

“I took the long way.”

“You always do.”

“Is it still raining.”

“Inside or out.”

“Both.”

“Come in.”

“Did you lock the back door.”