“I never understood how you do it.”
“Like I had a choice.”
“You always have a choice.”
“Fuck you.”
He sighed.
The night air scraped against his cheeks.
He crouched beside the man lying on the damp sidewalk and felt through his pockets.
The lamplight glinted in the puddles.
The latex gloves made it hard to feel.
Wallet.
He slipped it into his inner pocket.
Then he lifted the man’s sleeve.
The watch latch came undone like nature.
There.
Next to the wallet.
On the main road, a car hissed past.
He stood.
They walked away, deeper into the alley.
The bass from the bar faded behind them.
Neither spoke.
Then he broke the silence.
“It’s not my fault he made poor life choices.”
“No,” she said.
He looked at her.
“Your only fault is thinking you didn’t have a choice.”
He snorted.
“He won’t need them anymore anyway, will he?”
She glanced back at the body.
“No,” she said. “He won’t.”
-ck