Be Very Quiet

It's late, and everyone's asleep. We'll have to be quiet or they'll hear us. I want to tell you something.

Just got back from walking the dog. It's fucking cold out there. I had my pajamas on and the wind would tear through the bottoms and sting my legs. Bo seemed impervious, and he was annoyed when I pulled him to come back.

Back inside the house, I kept my coat and hat on as I shivered off the cold, giving the dog a treat for having the decency to save his waste for outside. His reaction was neutral, hungry for the snack but yearning for the meat treats instead of the peanut butter biscuits. He scampered away. I could hear him plop down and start munching feet from Cathy as she slept. The white noise machine, the antidote to my snoring and apnea, mostly drowned him out.

I sat here for a while, knowing I really wanted to say something, but not sure what it was. I knew you don't want to hear all my really deep thoughts, I barely even care about them myself. They seem like perpetual distractions to the business of living, a constant annoyance.

It's okay, you don't have to tell me you care, you might wake someone up.

When it's this cold, it makes you ache in your soul. It makes me glad I don't live in New Hampshire anymore. If it's cold in Boston, it's insanely fucking cold up in Milan. It was so cold there, I used to be happy to see the school bus coming.

On nights like these, when we're the only ones still awake, it's tempting to tell you all my secrets, to unburden myself of things only I know. But there's not much to tell, only trifling things that are of little interest and could cause awkwardness when we meet again in the bright light of day.

I know you're thinking that I should share with you, that it won't change anything. That you can be trusted.

I'm sure you can, but we're simple animals, we're programmed to behave a certain way. Just like how if I had taken Bo's biscuit away before he had finished it, he would have growled at me in an unexpected show of aggression.

But I guess I have to share at least one secret with you. It is late, after all, and we're the only ones still awake. And you have been very quiet.

Wait. I can hear Cathy stirring. If she gets up, she'll want to know what we're talking about. I better not tell you now. I'm going to try and sneak into bed. You'll have to leave as quietly as you can.

Be careful, the front door squeaks.