'Love Affair' by Helena Mallett

Meet in wine bar.

Back to my place.

Text her next day.

She texts me straight back.

First weekend together.

Goes well.

Three nights a week.

Becomes seven.

I say I love you.

She says it too.

Update our statuses to ‘in a relationship’.

Tell friends we’re soul mates.

Get her a key cut.

Make space for her clothes.

Have friends over for dinner.

Share the little 'in' jokes.

Fab holiday in Kenya.

Meet the twin sister.

Palm trees, suntan oil.

Lots of sex.

She even comes to Wembley.

We win two nil.

Talk about buying our first flat together.

West Hampstead or Mill Hill.

Share our family histories

Hers dysfunctional, mine all good.

Plan out our future.

Babies, how they’d look.

Back from work.

There’s a yellow Post-it on the table.

Only three words –

Can’t do this.