Of course I got the facelift I’d do anything for him our relationship was that special it was like he saw my soul through his melting caramel brown eyes so full of wild spirit I was smitten the first time I saw him in that tiny diaper clinging to my fingers like a baby bird on a branch my husband understood and I don’t care that people said we exploited him putting him in our TV commercials he wanted to work wanted to do for us we were happy and the money poured in everyone wanted to see him touch him take their picture with him he was probably 7 when he had his first drink at a Valentine’s Day dinner it seemed wrong not giving him some champagne too and we ate filet mignon and lobster he loved chewing the tails and caviar sandwiches and popcorn chicken snack boxes day or night life was good the business grew and grew I was enchanted by our darling didn’t notice my husband’s feelings changing to green envy and later full blown jealousy when he had to leave our bed to make room for T____ such a natural progression from caregiver to colleague to best friend to pardon me who are you to judge people can’t help who they love it’s like the weather it simply descends upon you and then you’re deep in it until it blows away my husband was in the guest room then so when his heart problems started we thought it best he still loved T____ I used to push T____ high higher on the swing set until he hit 200 pounds my husband would watch from the upstairs window and laugh we were still happy and T____ was a charming co-host at the parties we threw so good for business and so was T____ walking around the room with mimosas at brunches or mixing martinis people couldn’t believe how clever he was but I knew from the first moment how important he would be so the facelift was nothing I wanted him satisfied and when that meant looking like the 14 year-old he was so what and then my hair was chemically straightened that Japanese technique gave the best results he loved twirling my hair around his fingers then I dyed it jet-black grew it long and swung it around his laughing face while astride him yes oh yes after my husband I swear I heard his heart explode just like an airborn cantaloupe hitting the driveway died we buried him sold the business T____ and I had even more time then when friendship turned the corner and we were suddenly looking at each other with dewy eyes flirting and the touching crackled with electricity and 70 year-old me was reborn he made feel like a girl so I wanted to look like one too for him it was all for him my beloved my own true wildheart.
Copyright 2009
Author's Bio: Holly Anderson authored Lily Lou(Purgatory Pie Press)and Sheherezade(Pyramid Atlantic), anthologized in Up is Up But So is Down: NY's Downtown Literary Scene,1974-1992 (NYU Press)Unbearables(Autonomedia) & First-Person Intense(Mudborn Press). She performs with Lisa B. Burns in NYC as New Randy. http://www.smokemusic.tv/content/mission-burma-holly-anderson
