Some years ago, on a Monday, I met Joyce at Whitlows. I bonded with her over bourbon and cokes. She wore a black dress; sloping V, open back It clung to her thigh, as though her skin Was coated in sweets: sugar, honey, syrup. Her face shined under the light overhead: Denim eyes, velvet lips, an upturned nose. She went to G.W.; read Junot; rode thoroughbreds; Spoke Arabic; ate okra; watched Kubrick. At the foosball table, I touched her wrist. She touched my arm. The next day, after coitus and coffee, I went to my car and found a ticket.