BETRAYAL
it was late
in the evening
and at
that hour she
was usually in bed
doing her nails
or reading a fashion
magazine
but on
this evening she
was not there
the bed
was empty.
he
was worried
something had
happened
to her.
she
was kidnapped
and left for
dead.
they
lived in that
sort of
neighborhood.
he went
outside into
the dangerous darkness
where people were
sometimes robbed
and shot.
he
walked
down the sidewalk
looking for her.
he came
|upon the neighbor’s house
and the curtains in
the front window were
pulled back.
there
she was sleeping
on a sofa in the arms
of another man.
he did not
understand at first.
she would
not do that
but
then he knew
she would.
he was an
oblivious boyfriend.
he
did not
pay enough
attention
to her.
he was
caught up in an
inner cyclone of confusion
and impotence.
she was
often invisible to him.
he
looked
at them framed
in the window
peacefully sleeping
her
head
on his shoulder
and his hand on
her thigh.
he
turned away
and the street was aglow
in furious red
and so was the
night sky.
he walked
back to the house
and slammed the door.
he
began
thinking what
he would do.
he wanted
to hurt both of them
but knew
that was something
he was incapable
of doing.
he walked
in tight circles with
fists clenched.
he
wanted
to cry but was unable
to do so.
the
sense
of betrayal was
red and it
dominated
him.
he tried
to remember where
he kept the
bottle of whiskey.