[23] "Trial Separation, or Five Classy Ways to Deal with a Cheating Husband"

Trial Separation, or Five Classy Ways to Deal with a Cheating Husband

By Deidre Price

ONE

I'll paint a chalk menu on the wall,

write seven dishes to cook this week—

one for every woman you had

instead of me.

I'll knead memories in pie crusts,

top them with tall, meringued fantasies,

after folding in some of mine

with some of yours.

TWO

I'll double starch your collars

when I press the shirts

with seven shades of lipstick on them,

all but mine.

I'll launder our wedding day,

the births of our children.

I'll keep washing and pressing

to get the truth out.

THREE

I'll wipe down your dash,

shred glovebox receipts,

collect clues from the floorboards.

I'll see seven cities on the map,

note you as both Lewis and Clark,

believe that I was strong enough to stay

in a place you never could:

home.

FOUR

I'll let you grab my ass

when I do your dishes

because the children might see.

FIVE

I'll set all the alarms in the house,

ring your front desk for a wake-up call,

put that laundry on the line,

knock the privacy fence down,

write our address on the Parade of Homes,

put the proof on the coffee table,

turn on the floodlights.

We'll all see or go blind trying.