five years passed
before Denise
admitted to herself
that they were never
going to get it together

yes, they were close
but it was like there was
something missing

and although they
worked on it together,
talked things through,
looked at it from all angles,
tried new things out
(this way and that),
it never seemed
quite right

why Mike should think
that flat-pack assembly
was such a good idea,
Denise would never know