Parting Ways with Her Long-Term Rental Agreement

Prettiness is not a rent you pay for occupying a space marked ‘female’.
—The Secret Lives of Dresses by Erin McKean

It never sat well
the way gas station attendants
and other random men
invaded the mother’s personal space.
As they approached her
the daughter inside the car
noticed how she allowed it.

Unease puzzled the daughter
the tattletale
the girl
who informed the father.

“Never say anything to him again.”
Like fog
her words reduced visibility
and silenced the truth.

The mixed messages confused the daughter
until crone clarity
reinformed her intuition
insisted she had paid enough rent.
After all
from the beginning
it
never
sat
well.