Cracking Dishes
Spilling Bad Habits
At his wit’s end, Seth found a piece
of himself in a broken shard of glass
that he dodged as Erika tossed
her mother’s gifted porcelain
to break even with his face.
Her bloody fingerprints
proved first-degree confusion.
The ceiling fan twisted through fine dust over the dining room table.
Seth had evened out the dark tablecloth earlier.
The plates and forks settled,
on the hardwood kitchen floor.
Red wine pooled over the glare
of an unproven understatement
that left Seth for dead.
Seth’s distorted apology lacked empathy
Erika sobbed in her dark nightgown.
Erika shook her fists and screamed.
Seth moved close to wrap her long, dark hair
around her neck.
He kissed her sunburned cheek and nibbled on her ear.
Erika closed her eyes and bit her bottom lip, releasing the tension in her chest with a soft sigh. “It won’t happen again,” Seth said, his breath tickling her neck.
They swooped to sweep up their mess.
Seth lowered himself to one knee.
“I shouldn’t have slept with your best friend,” Seth said.
Erika arched a brow. “Wait, what?”
“Well, that’s what this is all about, right?”
“I was mad because you left the toilet seat up.”
Erika raked her fingers through her thick, red hair. “I knew it,” she said. “Mom was right, but oh, no, I couldn’t listen.”
“This happened before we married,” Seth said.
Erika glared at him. “Back in ‘03?”
“Thereabouts.” Seth didn’t break eye contact.
Erika nodded and looped her arms around her waist.
“And since we’ve been married?” Erika shifted her weight to her back foot.
“Just you.” Seth shrugged. “It’s only been you.”
“Only me,” Erika said, as though she didn’t know whether to mock or believe me.
Seth swept the kitchen, and Erika caught pieces in a dust catcher.
Seth unlocked his phone and turned up his playlist. Erika blushed when Your Body’s Callin’ played.
Erika used the broom as a microphone, playing for an audience of one.
Seth grinned and watched her body move as though she’d shed her worries, even if only for a moment.
They laughed and cleaned until the kitchen shined
and their secrets emptied their closets.
The following weekend, Erika’s parents visited,
bringing them new plates and glasses.
Erika asked her mother how she knew.
“I wasn’t married yesterday.” She winked and guided Erika to make dinner.
Seth sat with her father, watching TV
and chatting about being a good husband
to avoid broken porcelain.
(© 2024 AC)
