The Two Lovers by Becky Parker

Temptation beckons. 

Chaotic voices swarm in her head.

Claustrophobia squeezes her wisps of breath.

In her stark apartment, she frantically searches, without success, behind the couch, underneath a velvet art poster of Elvis, in the panel behind the porcelain pot, and finally, in the pockets of her late husband’s Army jacket, which she tearfully clutches. 

Old habits die hard:

She once knew Jack Daniels as an intimate lover,

who arrived at midnight and stayed until dawn,

until he changed his mailing address to match hers.

She had reveled in his amber color; how he helped her forget.

Familiarity breeds contempt:

One fateful night; the face in the mirror showed

wounded eyes

and a soul like a  locust shell, hard and cracked.

The fog inside hear began to clear:

Soon, his wooing sonnets outside her window sounded 

flat 

and out of tune.

He had preyed on her vulnerability, provided false hope, isolation, and cold comfort.

Courage sparked and blazed within her to kick him out. 

She now collapsed on the bed, suddenly weary but resolved.

    She walked into the kitchen and stared into the steady, loving eyes of her new lover, Earl Gray. His hot steamy embrace provided comfort and distraction. She feels stronger, able to inhale.

 For now, it is enough.  

Becky Parker is an ordinary woman, forged from Appalachia, hoping to make a difference in the cosmos.