Last time I saw Suzy we shared a bowl of cheerios under the dim sprawled illumination of a moonlight tower in Arthur Park. She'd just gotten back from a few weeks at her mom's in Dallas. Suzy was about to move to Sacramento to work as a paid intern for the public television there. It was a humid night but there was miraculous lack of mosquitoes. Suzy had recently cut her blond hair into a short bob. The flattering cut showed off her long neck and strong but feminine chin.

"Do you know anyone out there?" I asked.
"My Aunt Stacy and her husband Dan," she replied as she gobbled up another spoonful.
"Are they cool?"
"They're nice."

We stayed out at the park until well after one am. I may or may not have told her something about recording an album with my buddy Nick before the end of the summer. I used to say shit like that all the time. She talked about being close to San Francisco.

After I walked her to her car we hugged for almost one minute. We both knew how much I liked her but trying to start something at that point would have been futile. She gave me a kiss on the lips and shrugged her shoulders, as if to say "sorry, dude", before getting her Civic and driving away.