By midnight, the party is beginning to wane; emotions are fraught, and some begin to cry. We’ve known each other for the better part of seven years. This is all we’ve known. We hold each other, close, as the music stops and the lights go up. We’re all seeing each other here, really seeing each other, the fullness of our lives apparent in this moment of strange grief. We continue to hold each other, heads buried into shirts, tender palms gripping forearms, insisting we’ll link up, insisting we’ll keep in touch. Insisting the only thing between us is love.
