i walked in behind her carrying a distended plastic sack
bulging with all manner of goods and produce
not saying a word as she removed her coat in
a single sudden motion
maintaining
a stolid steady stride
straight into the bedroom
slamming the door shut behind her.
–
i stood there as the echoes of rattling pine on pine subsided
returning at last
to the buzzing electrical hum of a house at rest.
fist clenched bag straining under the weight of its uninvited mass.
–
i felt it then
the release
the overwhelming relief
of pressure leaving my arm.
looking down i saw it all.
a tear emerging from its cloudy face like a smug smirk
quickly expanding and opening into a hissing fit of laughter
as its contents spilled upon the floor
thudding chuckles on latticed tiling.
–
i stood there for what seemed an eternity
but more reasonably perhaps
was but only a few seconds
as she exited her dark abode
pausing at the frame.
–
looking down
she saw it spread before me
glancing next
to the now mangled receptacle
clutched desperately in my balled up fist.
returning to the brackish boudoir she emerged
with a bag of her own
hastily packed with articles of clothing spilling out
in a rapacious cotton polyester blend rainbow
briskly cascading past me and out the front door.
–
i heard the ignition and felt the miles between us
–
i sat there in the mess
letting my heart tear open as well