Meredith Flory

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Friday Evening

I am wearing make-up
It matches the photo hanging on the fridge
From when Fridays were date nights

My son asks why I have on lipstick
I am only sitting on the couch in sweatpants
My husband, his father, is looking at a computer screen

I do not tell him that it is like highlighter on a page
Hoping I will be noticed and remembered
Or that it's simply because I needed it this morning
And didn't want to wash my face

I want to tell him our bodies are art and we are the artist
Like the sketchpad his sister is doodling on across the room
When the mood strikes us, we must paint
Instead, I shrug

Well, you look beautiful mom
We watch tv

Meredith Flory is an English teacher, freelance writer, military spouse, and mother. She has a master's degree in literature from Kansas State University. Her fiction and non-fiction work can be seen in magazines such as Military Families, The Ranger's Almanac, and Paperbound Magazine. Find her online at www.meredithflory.com and Instagram @meredithfloryauthor.