The Park

The sun was setting, casting a pink-orange color across the city park. Mothers were busy gathering up their kids, blankets, toys. Older gentlemen quickened their walks on the cemented trails to make it to their cars before dark. Dogs' barking faded into the distance. There were so many people around them, making so much noise-but they were deaf to it all. They were the only two people left alone on the large hill positioned on the edge of the park property. At that moment, Megan and Brooke were the only two people on Earth. And that was okay.

“Do you think it'll last?” Brooke said, her long blonde hair was tied up high to escape the unyielding wind.

“The sunset? No, baby, it's gonna be gone in a few minutes. Then we gotta go.” Megan put a hand on Brooke's shoulder and stood up, wiping the grass from the back of her pants and straightening out her freshly dyed hair.

“No, baby. I'm not talkin' about the sun,” Brooke paused and looked up at Megan, then continued, her words slower and more carefully pronounced, “I'm talking about us.”

“Oh.”

“Well? What do you think? Is it gonna last forever, or are we just wasting our time?” Brooke's narrow eyes widened, and she grabbed her girlfriend's leg as Megan began to pace.

“I don't know, Brooke. I want this,” she twirled her finger in a circle motion, indicating Brooke and herself. “I don't know how it's gonna work out, though.”

Megan walked over to a large oak tree and sat down, back against the trunk and head down, resting it on her knees. Brooke crawled over to her.

“Baby,” she said, “I know it's hard, but...” Brooke's voice faded into the wind, as her bright eyes faded with the setting sun. “I need you.”

“I need you too.” Megan spoke without thinking, and fast; her head still down. But it didn't matter. She knew they needed each other. There was no denying it.

Brooke fingered her girlfriend's hair, separating the different highlights. Megan lifted her head.

“I guess when the time comes, we'll just have to...you know...”

“What?” Brooke pushed away from her, “Why would you even think about that?” She stood, walking back to their original resting place. Megan followed.

“ I don't know. It's just an unavoidable subject, Brooke.”

“You didn't have to bring it up.”

“Sorry.”

The silence between them was permeable. The two talked of nothing for those few minutes they simply stood and watched the sun hide slowly below the horizon.

Brooke began to walk away.

“Where are you going?” Megan asked.

“Home,” Brooke said.

“Can I walk with you?” Megan asked.

“I don't think that's a good idea,” Megan said.