Friday, July 20, 2012

Asking for it

Our eyes


Asking for it

I could tell by her eyes.
They looked like mine, in the mirror.
She had an abusive partner, like I did.
She was my new new bus driver. I sat behind her and we talked. Every day we talked. We rarely talked about our partners. We talked about our kids, our gardens.
Sometimes, she had a bruise or black eye.
Sometimes, I did. Or, we both did.
One day, I said my husband said I was asking for it, that I liked it. She said her husband said that too. I said it wasn't true. I did everything I could to avoid it. She said, "me too."
A tear glistened in the corner of her eye.
One day, she was gone. I read in the paper she'd been killed by her husband.
I decided to leave mine before that happened to me.

6 comments:

jo(e) said...

Oh, wow. This is heart-breakingly sad.

You say so much in so few words.

Mary Stebbins Taitt said...

thanks, jo(e). I was so sad. She was SO NICE, so sweet, so gentle. So warm and friendly. Cheerful. Pretty, too.

(I don't remember the year.)

John said...

Oh Mary how sad.

Mary Stebbins Taitt said...

Thanks, John. :-( :-D

Anonymous said...

Glad you left - good move!

Mary Stebbins Taitt said...

Thanks, Jim! :-D