Untitled
A bell rings in the night
A light clicks on
A set of stairs creak under the weight of slippered feet
He has come
As she knew he would
Always at the same time
Always on the same day
Always given and never taken for granted
A working model of charity
He looks as she knew he would
Tired, withdrawn, aging
She takes his hand, and his coat if it’s winter
Leads him to her kitchen
The room is dark
It always stays dark
Darkness for seduction, darkness for confession
He sits on the far left chair
She sits on his knee
He speaks and she listens
“I’m spent, I’ve nothing more to give.”
“It’s not time yet, you must go on, soon it will all be over.”
At the sound of her voice
He begins to cry
Loud, desperate, unmanly tears
Too painful to hear
He opens her gown and muffles his cries in her breast
Her warm skin, her warm beating heart
Always have the desired affect
He will sleep soon
Like the tired child he is
They will stay like this till daybreak
Then they will part company like strangers
Never seeing each other’s eyes.
He has a key to the house
But he never uses it
It makes her feel better when he announces his arrival
She is always in her slippers and robe
Always freshly washed
Always waiting
He cannot disappoint her
He can hear the soft padding on the stairs
It is his cue to ring the bell
The door opens
He puts his hand out to her
She takes it and they move forward.
It’s dark
She knows the way
He knows the way too
The chair in the kitchen on the far left is waiting
Pulled out in anticipation of his arrival
With a cushion for his back
He sits
She sits too
Always on his knee
Evenly distributing herself
The warm water still heating through her chest
She speaks and he listens
“I want it very badly, I keep trying, but nothing seems to change.”
“Don’t give up now, soon you’ll have everything you wish for.”
He looks at her and she turns her face away
Parts her gown and buries his head in her chest
They will stay like this for hours
The morning light will come
All will be as if nothing had happened
Nothing has happened
He will leave a stranger
He will come back a stranger. ◊