No, they did not know each other. And what happens next is … well, what? That’s up to the reader to determine.

This was originally written as a short stage play, and a friend and I performed it at Chicago House in Austin, Texas, my home. We sat on stools in the dark, dressed in black, and each stood and played our parts directly to the audience in a tight spotlight that came down as we rose, in turn, from our stools, then returned to them, again in blackness, at the end of each speech. At the end, when we “turned the knob” of her door, we faced each other for a moment, then BLACKOUT. Each time we performed this, the audience was struck dumb, but eventually broke out in applause, seeming to get permission to applaud from the first few brave souls who started it. It was sweet.

Thank you so much; and yes, I’ve received much more than I deserve — we’ve been married for more than 33 years now!

Hey, Peter, I added a picture to this. Take a look!