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