Outside, the sunlight was harsh and the first snow of the year dusted backyards and roof tops. From the tenth floor of the apartment building, looking out his living room window, the man could remember when he was a very young boy and the first snow always arrived in November. This first snow had fallen last night, in January. The man was in slippers, pajamas and bathrobe.
The man was forty years old. He sipped cocoa from a porcelain cup and thought about being forty. He heard the woman come up behind him and she put her arms around him from behind. It was their first weekend off together since she had agreed to give up her apartment and move into his. She was thirty five.
In a sleepy voice she said, “What should we do today?”
“Anything you like.”
“We always see the same people.”
“Let’s see new people.”
She said, “People can be so disagreeable.”
“Let’s rent some movies.”
“Romantic movies?” she asked hopefully.
He was looking at the snow. He thought about the engagement ring he had hidden that she knew nothing about.
“Yes,” he said. “Romantic movies.”
