Night Light |
Issue 19
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The night light shines from the bathroom. I am perched on the edge of the bed.
My wife is asleep on the other side. And why shouldn’t she be sleeping? Are you insinuating something? I wait till the dizziness from arising passes. My legs are not much good anymore. I see a glint on the wall and head for the pseudo-crystal knob of the closet door. My hand grips the knob and steadies me. I keep the closet door closed because it’s not smart to open closets—you know what I mean. In the bathroom I grip the brass doorknob. My wife is standing in the tub with one hand on the shower curtain. “What are you doing in here?” she yells. I brush her hand with a back scrubber and she lets go and pulls the shower curtain closed with her other hand. When I get back to bed, she is lying quietly on the other side, asleep. |
DOUGLAS MACDONALD works in a native plant garden in Illinois. He has published in Red Door (Copenhagen), Santa Fe Literary Review, Sand Journal (Berlin) and many other magazines. He was nominated for a Pushcart prize.
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