A puddle up ahead, best to avoid it. The reflection didn't let on if it was deep or not. They skirted it quietly, his hand never leaving her waist. Sam felt the need to do so also and simply hopped over it; the luxury of four legs of course.
The rain was now only a light splatter, not enough to even warrant the portable umbrella. The lights, of course, were beautiful, as was the utter stillness of the night.
"How much longer will the lights last?", she asked. He leaned his head in so that he could rest it on her damp hair, smelling the fragrance of it, trying to imprint this memory forever.
"Maybe another week or so, at most. The plant can run itself until the coal runs out. We'll see the lights go off for a second, then come back up when the back-up diesel generators take over. They'll last a few hours at most".
She stared at the colors cast by the street-lamps. Beautiful unnatural hues from all the particulates in the air. Tiny bits of sand that she knew were slowly killing them, and Sam.
The didn't see anyone else this night and hadn't for a few days regardless. It was all theirs, to walk through in peace if they wished. They crossed the park and ended up on the street near "Maison Chartreuse". The door probably wouldn't be locked.
Inside he kicked on the gas stove and she pulled dry ingredients out of the kitchen. She would let him cook of course. She loved that when they first met, he had spent weeks watching internet videos to impress her with his cooking. He was terrible at it of course, but she radiated love at him which each of his attempts.
Their was some salmon in a freezer locker that was still good. They cooked that and made sure that Sam got a good-sized portion as well. With an entire town to themselves, they weren't going to starve, that was for sure.
They pulled their chairs close so their hips could touch while they ate. When they finished, they left their dirty plates on the table. A corner of the restaurant was left for a small baby grand piano and a bit of raised parquet dance floor. They slow danced to a silent tune only they heard while Sam played with a knotted-up dinner napkin that she had tossed to him as a toy.
After the slow dance, they made love on a bench seat to a alcove table nearest the window; the light outside and the light-splattered window casting red and blue shadows over their bodies.
She lay quietly on top of him afterwards, her head on his chest, listening to his steady and strong heartbeat. Sam napped quietly under the piano, having lost interest in his napkin-toy. She turned her face so they could look into each others eyes.
"I don't want to see you in pain. I don't want to see you suffering, or Sam for that matter", she said.
He looked away from her stared up at the copper tiles of the restaurant's ceiling. "I don't want that for you either", he said softly. "It won't come to that, we have access to the Pharmacy, and their are probably pills and medicines in people's homes. Most left their doors open when they left. A few handfuls of Xanex and maybe a nice Duhart-Milon from the wine cellar here. We'll go back to the house, close the garage and leave the car running. All three of us will fall asleep together".
"How long", she asked him.
"Two, maybe three days. We shouldn't wait longer than that, just to be safe", he replied.
He stopped staring at the ceiling and they locked eyes for a few seconds, for a few eons. She kissed him lightly and they started to gather their clothes to put them back on. The soft noise their clothes made woke up Sam, who stretched contentedly and walked over quietly to be patted on the head.
They stepped out into the night together again, all three of them. The lights shined down on them both. Golds and greens and reds, welcoming them back into quiet of the night.
The End.