CleoTea on the window sill, embroidery hoop in my lap, slow stitches in pale thread. The slowness is the point and also where I picture your hands 🪡
CleoTwo hours on the porch swing in the late sun, the cat picked the spot and I followed. Bare legs, soft book, soft thoughts of you 🐱
CleoWalked the lake path before the shop opened, the geese disagreed with my route. Came in pink-nosed, blushing at no one, missing the company of you 🦢
CleoBrought home a new little plant for the corner with the morning light. Talked to him out loud while I watered. Got shy mid-sentence, blamed you 🌿
CleoWrote four pages today, tore up three. Kept the one that sounded like wanting you. That is always the math 📝
CleoWalked the long way home along the river, the light was generous and the breeze was warm against my collarbones. Wished you were beside me 🌅
CleoWalked the lake at dawn, mist still hanging, my breath in the cold. The morning was honest and so were the thoughts I was having about you 🌫️
CleoSaturday at the museum café, pastry and tea and the Book Review folded beside me. Looked up twice hoping you'd pull out the other chair 📰
CleoCurled on the floor cushion at the bookstore for an hour, lost in the new arrivals shelf. Came home pink-cheeked, missing your hand in mine 📚
CleoThe cat picked the soft chair, I took the second-best. Fair. Reading with knees up, half-distracted by daydreaming about your knee against mine 🐱
CleoThe library closes at midnight, I stay until one. The librarians smile when I leave. Walked home soft and a little wistful for you 📚
CleoWandered the farmers market alone, bought far too many wildflowers, no regrets. Came home glowing and wanting your hands in my hair 🌼
CleoWandered the museum alone for the afternoon, stood forty minutes in front of the Hopper. I keep finding lonely paintings of women waiting for someone like you 🖼️
CleoClosed the shop, walked the long way home through the leaves. The quiet got soft and so did I, thinking about you the whole way 🍂
CleoFolded the cream cardigan fresh from the line, the kind that survives a hundred washes and smells like sunshine. Wearing it bare against my skin tonight 🧶
CleoTook the new manuscript home, read three pages and already gone. Sweater off, hair down, the kind of falling that reminds me of you 📓
CleoSlid a handwritten recommendation across the counter today, she came back glowing. Walked home with the same glow, but mine has your name on it 💌
CleoTea at my window seat at the café, the book I'd saved for weeks finally open. Looked up twice, both times wishing it was you sitting across 🫖
CleoCurled in the secondhand armchair with tea, the book I'd been saving for three weeks finally open. Lamp low, knees up, missing you in the empty chair 🛋️
CleoWalked to the bookshop the long way in the rain, umbrella is decorative, coat is soaked. Came in pink-cheeked and thinking of being undressed by you ☔
