somewhere, in another country, is a woman who remembers him.

now this woman, this other woman, who lays in her bed down the hall from him, sleeping, shirtless, on her couch, thinks about this.

somewhere, in another country, is a woman who pushed him into the mud and sat atop him.

he had his hands on her hip.

there was a mist from the waterfall across the hill that covered them.

above her, beyond her curly hair that fell around her shoulders, he looked up through the trees to the night sky.

and she moved.

this other woman, she imagines this, having never been told about it other than "there was another lady, between you and my wife."

secretly, she imagined there were more women, and she saw in his eyes that maybe there were, women who only got a night or two of his, women who were loved inside of hotels or houses, women loved under roofs.

women loved safely.

they, this other woman and him, they made love on a roof many years ago. he had closed down the building and led her up the stairs, to the ladder and there they were, looking up at the stars, over the streets to the lights in the dip of the land, and he kissed her where her neck met her shoulder.

and they made love, hard and fast, hungry. afterwards he mumbled against her stomach "may all the women i love sleep with me outside."

a prophecy. a wish. he kissed his way up her belly, to her breast bone, up her neck, the underside of her chin, her lips.

then he said "all the women i have loved have slept with me outside."

that was the first time love had been mentioned between the two of them.

"i love you." he said. and the wind picked up and the cars driving by slowed, became sparse, and she fell asleep to the patterns his fingers made on her legs.

he's asleep, now, on her couch.

and somewhere there was a woman who pushed him into the mud.

somewhere there was a woman who made him do that stutter gasp he did when he was on the edge.

somewhere they laid together, sleeping, naked, goosebumped, and he loved her.

in his own way, he loved her.

as he, in his own way, remained faithful to the other woman.