The brace of her dress

 I fingered the brace of her dress
I adjusted it as no one was looking
she pretended not to notice
eyes and face away from me

A conversation with the future across the table
Some man at the end of the game
almost ready for the euphoria and contract
She walks arm and arm with him uphill main street

Shops greet them with sneaky smiles
advertising and distractions
But her eyes were on the cobblestones
They stopped and she blocked the sun with her hand

staring down the full length of the street
Her back brace came loose
And he wasn't able to tighten it
as she told him to leave it