Smile tight, lips stretched
like a groom in a stock photo,

 

he presses a quarter

into a scratch lottery card,
brushing flecks of silver
shading his hand as grey

as the dusty tiles in the 7/11.

 

Dust flutters over a magazine article;
pictured: his & hers monogrammed towels.

 

He squeezes the breath from his chest,
lifts the card,

fingers trembling.

 

Two of a kind

is never enough.