What Kind of Woman

by Kate Baer

Deleted Sentences Dear husband. Dear lover. Dear darling of my heart. No, I do not want to attend the barbecue scheduled cruelly over naptime. I do not want to go to the recital either. Can you tell your sister that too? In the morning I saw you dancing with our daughter and for a moment I almost cried. I hate when people say I almost cried. Why even mention it at all? What time will you be home? What time do you think you may be home? What time should we wait for you outside on the lawn while the pasta boils over and the baby cries because he misses you? Oh, before I go—what time will you be home? Sometimes I wonder what would happen if you died and I had to write a eulogy while lost in my grief. What would I say? And who would take out the trash bins on dark Sunday nights or hold our children while they cried through fever dreams? What time will you be home?