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"I tough it out through mid-November And some winter days aren’t so bad, you know? But Kurt and I usually hole up in the dorlances at me It’s so sexy that o?"

"Everywhere," I reply "We’ll go everywhere together"

"I want to show you h self-portrait at the d’Orsay And there’s this Van Dyck that I’ve always loved at the Louvre Le Roi à la chasse I don’t even knohy I love it so much Maybe you could tell ainst my lids "I’d like to take you to the restaurant inside the mosque We’ll have mint tea and honeyed desserts"

"We’ll ride the Ferris wheel at the Place de la Concorde"

"And then we’ll walk through the Tuileries and drink vin chaud to stay warm"

"The flea market in Montmartre," he says "We’ll shop for rusted bicycles and broken mirrors"

"We’ll ride the métro to its furthest stops, just to see what’s at the end of each line"

"Those," Josh says to the wall, "are perfect days" I open my eyes He dips a small brush into the paint and pauses mid-air

And then…he co a ins with a sketch, an outline, and moves around the interior in a complete circle It’s already clear what this mural will be

I ser brush and bolder strokes Fat green leaves and thick green branches appear across the wall’s peeling white paint I lose myself in a book about the search for an ancient lost city in the Arow But when he circles around again, unexpected shapes appear between the leaves He’s creating askyline It’s precise but with his usual touch of whis rounder, others

When Josh doesn’t notice – which is a first, Josh adores Jacque – he scowls and saunters towards izzard from the salad I had for lunch, and he allowsback over the rooftops

The sun beats down Josh takes off his shirt He’s so deep into his work that he’s forgotten I’m here He’s a work of art hi, est He has a sht shoulder blade and a faded scar on his lower back The skull-and-crossbones on his arainst this backdrop of similar brushstrokes

And…his hips They jut out skeletally fro to this area again and again This right-above-the-pants area

Christ