dance hall girls

“This isn’t going to work, you know?”
“What isn’t? Us?”
“Yes.”
“For some reason, I knew you would say that.”
“This is too peaceful, too quiet, too alone. You couldn’t handle this, long-term.”
“You think you know me that well, already?”
“It’s in your eyes. I saw it, tonight. For the first time, maybe. There’s no mistaking it. There’s a restlessness, there. Sometimes it looks like a twinkle, a sparkle, but that’s only camouflage. It’s an anxiousness. The next place. The next story. The next challenge. The next woman.”
“I’m not used to being such a open book.”
“Some people are better readers than others.”
“Do you read mirrors, too?”
“I do.”
“What do you see there?”
“Someone looking back who is intoxicated by itinerant cowboys, but really wants the owner of the local general store.”
“I think it’s that way for a lot of dance hall girls.”
“Might be. Could be. Is, I guess. But that doesn’t change anything.”