God takes the men first." - Svetlana Alexievich "Chernobyl Prayer"The darkness.All we have as men is the night now...Once upon a time there had been a...river. A meandering river which becameknown as La Bonne. At first my town had been just a village by the seabut gradually, because it was well served by La Bonne, a town sprung up,with all the vices, including the world's oldest profession, associatedwith a seaport.La Bonne had been teaming with life then, taking traders and goods farinland,. But that wasn’t surprising. Carmen had always dealt with things such as pain and grief through exercise. The first time we got back together after breaking up, she’d gained four pounds of muscle and lost an inch around her waist. She looked even more fit now. I followed behind her as she headed down the street from her building. She didn’t notice me, of course. I wasn’t part of her life anymore, after all. But Carmen wasn’t her usual outgoing self. She used to look people in the eye, even just. He was in a sport jacket with a white dress shirt and tie. Molly was wearing a floral sundress covered with a sweater. They looked as if they were going to church, not a romantic dinner. No wonder why that special something-something wasn’t there. He was sure she felt it, too, but she would never admit to it. As the hostess seated them at a table, he noticed a couple sitting just two tables away sharing the same side of a banquette, more interested in their conversation than the menus in front. The woman had pointed toward where her benefactors were, and Amelia steeled herself for disappointment. She had always harbored a fantasy about having sex with a pilot. The uniforms made her tingle all over, for some reason. It was why she always chose an airport hotel when the option was available.Unfortunately, the closest she had ever come was an almost identical situation twice before. The pilots who had bought her drinks were older men, but it was the archaic lines and faux confidence.