I met her at the hospital

I remember her
Always in her yellow bathrobe
With matching yellow slippers

She was only a few years older than I was

She told me all about
Their house out in the country
I kind of knew where they lived
I used to drive by their town
When I went out of state to see friends

She said they might have me over
Then she said
Her husband probably wouldn’t like it

I met her at the hospital
During a hot muggy summer

She was sweet and beautiful
Hair turning gray in her late twenties
We talked sometimes in the hall

She seemed afraid to go back home
And I noticed
That he never came to see her there

I said goodbye to her at the hospital
I was still too sick to leave

Then
As she was about to go
Smiling faintly
I saw – somehow –
A search
And a desperation
In her eyes

And not long after

Not very long at all…

He murdered her

They ruled it suicide
But it was him
He did it
Out there in the country
She had no place else to go
No place to escape to
Except the path she took

And her yellow robe hung there
Over her yellow slippers
In a forgotten closet
And they were sold at a yard sale

And I believe she went to a better place
And —
God help me and forgive me
But —
I hope he’s gone straight to hell