When a Couple is Just a Couple

Sometimes the people in the street and in their cars and on the sidewalks and under the cardboard boxes and wrapped in foil are just that. However, yesterday, everybody around me seemed pregnant with menace and despair. I found myself on a diverging path with a tall man, who walked with leonine grace. On his face he wore a scowl, and he spoke in foreboding monotone. A woman walked several paces behind, apparently responding with words of subordinate dignity. They matched my speed, then broke off and crossed the street. I checked for my wallet. It was still there.