i’ll always remember that. her smiling at me, through the glass there, little bit of chocolate on her lips…and carrying her shoes.

SUE

this was going to be a great party…

pause

…i could feel it.

JOHN

the church usually threw a pretty good bash, i mean, times we’d go into the city.

SUE

it was our anniversary…

JOHN

last minute, got her a corsage, not the wrist kind, hate those…but this was beautiful, white blossoms. don’t know what kind, but they were white, i remember that…

SUE

i loved it! the softest pink, it was… john thought it was white, but it was really just the lightest shade of pink. the last shade of pink it could be, before turning into something else… (BEAT) and you know? he pricked his finger, john did. as he pinned it on me, pricked his index finger…

JOHN

stupid pin!…

SUE

and then…a spot of blood, just a drop, but he ended up with this touch of blood on his shirt…

JOHN

couldn’t even see it if i buttoned the jacket…

SUE

but see, in a weird way, though, it excited me. the blood, is that stupid to say?…probably, but it did. (BEAT) i mean, it was stunning to look at, you know? all that white on him, the bright of his shirt…and then this splash of…

JOHN

red…

SUE

…blood on his chest.

JOHN

didn’t get any on her dress, however, nothing, felt good about that…wouldn’t want to ruin her anniversary dress.

SUE

four years…

JOHN

huh? believe that? four…since fall of our third year in high school, wow…

SUE

i saw him on the track one day. lived six blocks away all my life, in history together, but i never really saw him until he was jogging one time…

JOHN

i like to keep in shape…

SUE

he’d always kept his hair short, trimmed up…

JOHN

my dad cut it. believe that?! sixteen years old and my father drags me into the kitchen, every other sunday. i could just count on the standard “sears portrait” cut. (BEAT) i was always a little worried about my ears. stick out a bit…

SUE

but i see him running, really running, blistering by people who are just jogging or walking and i don’t know this guy. ’s cute. nice body. and i don’t know him… (BEAT) kind of long hair…

JOHN

my dad was away on sabattical over in london or some type of thing…i didn’t really know or care. i could let my hair grow, that’s what i saw coming out of the whole deal. my mom didn’t mind at all…

SUE