A French Comedy

The evening city sparkled with lights, as if trying to rival the stars. Ethan and Hannah walked hand in hand down a busy street toward the old Odeon cinema. They were just over thirty, and their marriage, though strong, had started to settle into habit — the kind that quietly but surely dulls passion. Hannah, with her long chestnut hair and the sly look in her green eyes, still looked as if she'd just stepped off a magazine cover. She wore a black dress with a deep neckline that showed off her graceful figure, and Ethan, as always, couldn't take his eyes off her. He loved her — deeply, almost painfully — but somewhere inside he felt their life had become too predictable.