The
night before the inauguration
by
Kristine Esser Slentz
on
ladies’ night we drank White Russians
at
the local draft house
passing
on the English and Irish pub
choosing
to sit at the tall table
in
the middle of the room
surrounded
by TVs and its media
we
take sips of our iced over drinks
between
bites of deep fried food
we
thank the black man that’s serving us
we
discuss the origins of our
European
surnames with giggles
ultimately
reverting the conversation
back
to our full time day jobs
complaining
about the hours and
its
offered healthcare coverage
maybe
we’ll just show up late tomorrow
a
shifty look from a manager
is
worth this next liquid delight
at
the end of our rich meal
we
hand our VISAs to our server and
with
a bow and a gesture of gratitude
he
leaves us and we leave the
customary
tipping percentage
then
with elbows locked we walk
home
to our high rises
openly
kissing each other on the cheek
and
a solid embrace of arms
we
part only to meet our husbands
inside
the historic renovation
– asleep
Kristine
Esser Slentz
is originally from northwest Indiana and the Chicagoland area, accent
and all. She is a Purdue University alum who studied English
literature and creative writing while working at the independent
student newspaper, The Exponent. After college Kristine has
written pieces in publications such as the HuffPost,
Pattern, and Nuvo Indy’s Alternative Voice. Currently,
Kristine is the Assistant Editor at Unfold and has
published poetry in Sweater Weather Magazine and The
Unprecedented Review.