the owners

they own six houses
they are quick to tell you.
six
he says, she says.
they say what the other
one is thinking.
finishing sentences
for one another.
they've been at this for
awhile.
painting, plumbing.
the floors.
the cracks in the wall.
it's how we met, she says.
right, he says.
they've seen it all.
been there. gone down
every road.
but it's fun she says,
smiling, holding a color
chart against
the wall. what do you think
of antique white, she says
out loud, looking at her husband
asleep
against the cut up
rug, rolled on the floor.