She
I.
She tells him
he cares more about fish
than he cares about her.
He calls her
the Queen of Fish.
He says she has
fishy lips; she remembers
reading somewhere
that lipstick is made
from fish scales.
He says she is frigid,
right out of the river
in spring. She says
she hates the river,
she hates the town,
she hates fish,
she hates him.
She says she wants
to be in New York.
She says she could have been
a doctor, she dropped out
of medical school
to marry him.
He reminds her
that she hated medical school,
that she wasn't even going
to classes anymore
when they met.
She says she is going back
to school, she is getting
her degree. He says
she is too old,
they don't have enough money.
She says her family
will pay for it.
She says they will be pleased
she has left. She says
they never liked him anyway.
He says they are snobs,
nobody would be good enough
for them, and what's wrong
with banking anyways?
She says he's worse
than an accountant.
He says he never talked
about his job
with her anyways.
She says
he never talked
about anything
with her anyways.
II.
The women from the church
volunteer group tell her
she should work things out.
She says she doesn't think
it will work. She doesn't say
the only reason
she even volunteers there
is because she is
so bored.
Her friend at the salon
tells her to leave him
if she's unhappy. She says
she doesn't know if she can.
Her friend tells her
she can do better.
She says she doesn't want
to do better. She says
she is fed up with men.
Her friend tells her to go back
to her family. She says
her family is angry with her.
Her friend says they will forgive her.
She knows her friend is only
being supportive. Her friend
never disliked her husband
before this. Her friend
doesn't know her family.
The woman at the ice cream shop
tells her to follow her dreams.
The woman tells her to go back
to school. She says maybe
she could do it. She doesn't say
she doesn't want to be
a doctor anymore.
She doesn't say
that he was right,
that she never wanted
to be a doctor.
The woman looks happy.
She wonders if the woman
dreamed of being
an ice cream woman.
III.
The stranger on the flight to New York
asks her what she is doing.
She tells him her story.
She doesn't know why.
She tells him about the divorce.
The stranger is silent.
The stranger looks into her eyes.
The stranger says life
is all about experiences.
The stranger says this, too,
will pass. The stranger says
he wishes there was something
he could say to help her.
She says thanks.
She says she's okay.
He asks her if she wants
to get some coffee
at the airport.
She says no thanks.
She says she has someplace
to be. The stranger
gives her his phone number
anyways. The stranger says
she should call
if she ever needs
anything; he says
it's a big city.
In the taxi from the airport
to her hotel, she writes
his name and number
on a piece of paper
and sticks it in her purse.
She picks up the phone
in her room
to call her family.
She dials his number instead.
