We booked the babysitter
even though we didn’t have any plans
except not feeding the kids dinner
or getting them to sleep
we got to the restaurant at five o’clock
and told the waitress
we would stay a long time
and leave a big tip
but it was still early
when dessert was done
so we started walking
and ended up at the park
with a view
where the tourists
and the grandparents
and the teenagers go
on first dates
I thought of taking a selfie of us
but instead we sat on a bench
and talked about your novel
and how I am writing
poems again
it felt nice
but we called some friends anyways
only they weren’t home
so we ended up back at the car
where we sat
windows rolled down
and made a list
of the movies
we’ve been meaning to see
I said I wanted more dessert
so we drove to a spot
we’d been once before
only we couldn’t find it
so we parked and walked
and we bumped into
people we knew
and we chatted
before spotting a used bookstore
and as we picked out books
we thought each other would like
it hit me
we’d been nervous
to waste our date night
without a plan
but after the babysitter left
and we stayed up for the end
of a Clark Gable movie
from our list
I realized that’s why
people have date nights
not for excitement
but to slow right down
so the relationship
that has been waiting
so patiently
finally gets noticed
before it slips away
so quietly
they couldn’t remember
what had once
been there.