“Ater the Celebration”

“The disappearance of the sun symbolically ended the party. Skylar’s guests thanked him for his hospitality and said good-bye. When they had all gone, he lingered on the balcony feeling the now-cooler breeze against his throat and the chill of the stone underneath his arms, watching the vestiges of the sunset: the broad swatches of apricot and carrot like two-tone lipstick on the horizon, the cloud vortices now like rusks atop and scrambled eggs below. He remembered the day, how fine it had been, how perfect, really, for he would change nothing in it if, like a film director, he could re-shoot the scene. Everyone had come together in the spirit of celebrating the completed task and the accomplishment of a goal. The day itself had offered them the combined joys of a lover’s arms, a soft bed of grass, a favorite drink, and a welcoming home. Between the guests there had been only peacefulness and mutual enjoyment of one another’s company.”