She arrived 'round eight,
    Coal trotting in beside her,
    while I stirred the last of the sauce—
                            Caesar tossed, (bottled)
                          baguette sliced,
                       spaghetti steaming.

Simple—one of my best.

We ate,
   Pirates v. Cardinals on the screen,
               cheese grated for Coal,
 light cuddles tucked between innings.

And then—
    bottom of the ninth,
               two outs…

    Burleson’s bat lit the sky.

Walk-off home run,
     his fourth hit of the night,

     couch erupting like Busch itself.

Our first walk-off together.
    Coal happy it didn’t go extras,
    her eyes already tired,

    the game ending exactly on cue.

We finished the post-game show,
   then I walked her and Coal to the car.

Perfect hug,
        short goodnight text,
        sleep came *so* easy.

Tonight, Marcels—
         West Midtown waiting.
         (our first time here)

No Irby’s,
   just Northside Tavern
      until Mari arrives.

Already looking forward
        to tonight’s final moment—

        another perfect walk-off hug.