Like Every Other Year Pt 2 Poem by Vanessa Kingsley

Sit at the vanity and toy with your hair.
Eyeliner, mascara, lipgloss.

Be plain. Be simple. Be that girl as always.
Remember the memorable.

Check for everything. Turn off radio.
Look at self in the mirror. Don't smile.

Don't frown.
It's not you...but you'll get over it. At some point.

Grab your purse.
Head out of the room.

Walk out to the car.
He's there as promised.

Laugh inside.
Always mistaken for a date when he's not.

Silence the laughter as you realize what you always realize.
Smile warmly at him and say hi.

Shut off phone as he's talking.
Think of the hour long drive ahead.

Enjoy the time spent in the car.
Think of nothing else.

Get out of the car and gaze at the house for a few mere seconds.
Its grandeur no longer mesmerizing like it was when you were a child.

Link arms with him and walk inside.
A delicious fragrance. An abundance of people.

Feel your throat close up.
Take a breath; walk away from him with a smile and a thanks.

Sit over on the familiar couch watching the kids play.
See people stare and point at you.

Talk to her? Don't talk to her?
She looks familiar. Who is she?

Count the seconds till they ask.
Polititely remind them.

Watch their eyes widen in realization.
Listen to their sickeningly familiar comments.

I thought you were this person.
You sound like this person. You remind me of your mother.

Look across the room for my parents. Spot them in different corners.
Daddy chatting with whomever, Mommy chatting with her clique.

Watch the gentlemen walk away without another word.
See the girls stare at you with a peculiar facial expression.

Smile back at them. See the, smile back.
It's forced and formal. They've known you for years.

They walk away whispering casting glances at you.
Shake your head and continue watching the kids.

Carefree. Happy.
Will they be doing this all their lives?

No. It's just you.
It's just you.

Look up as claps and cheers sound around the room.
The host and hostess have graced us with their presence.

Genuine smiles. One genuine love.
Despite her husband's affairs...

They thank us all for coming out.
We toast. I sneak some champagne.

The bubbles tickle my throat and make everything clearer.
For the moment.

They walk around.
Polite hello's. Controlled laughter.

Then they reach me.
Something glows in their eyes for a moment and then it disappears.

They each hug me.
Tell me words they tell me every year.

But they change it.
It throws me off guard.

Well, she says it.
Quietly in my ear; 'I'm sorry'

She turns away with her husband to look for other guests.
I drain my glass.

That wasn't like every other year.
Everything else will be.

Hours. And hours I am at this party.
I do not dance nor am I asked to dance.

Until he comes up to me.
A sad smile on his lips.

The song is slow.
The song is familiar.

He asks me that question I am never asked.
Do you want to dance.

I don't hesitate.
I say yes.

I feel odd as I'm led to the dance floor.
As he envelops me in his arms.

Then the moments over in inder two minutes.
We smile and go back to our positions from before.

I sit and play with the children.
That was not like every other year.

But the rest will be.
And it is.

It is.

*there is a pt 3*