One Small Mistake

by Dandy Smith

Laughter glitters down the hallway,

I can still feel his strong hands resting in the violin curve of my waist

It’s like my life started the day you were born.

One moment, I wonder why we are still married, and the next, I can’t imagine my life without him.

Why is it that men always feel the need to announce they’ve nipped the hoover round or done a load of laundry like they’ve just cured cancer? Then they beam at you as though they’re waiting for you to offer them a gold star or a blow job despite the fact that you do these chores every day without so much as a ‘thanks for that’ from the supposed love of your life.

So I follow him into the storm.

every minor chord in his voice.

scream until my throat is shredded

Winter had banished the lilac plumes of wisteria, leaving only the skeletal remains of branches clinging to the stonework.

This realisation is a chaser so bitter, I feel sick.

My heart free-falls.

This was always going to end in death.