#19 China Cat (The Other Husband)

though she had no papers to prove it, she clearly looked like an Indian, so they let her cross the border. They were used to that.

She rented the first apartment that had a sign in the window. He was only too happy to, since it had been empty for months. She applied for welfare, and used the money for rent and food. She told them the truth, and they believed her. Why wouldn’t they. All she had in her apartment were plants, the clothes he gave her, her papers, and a bit of food, but that’s all she had money for that first month. Still, she was happy; she was away from him. He divorced her right away, sent the papers to her at her new place, called it abandonment, so she knew, he knew where she was. She never heard from him again, and couldn’t care less.

She got a job as a waitress, she got to keep her tips, and they gave her a uniform, so she could make money sooner rather than later. She gradually bought everything from the second-hand store. It was surprising what some people threw away; some of it was brand new. She was such a good customer, they even called her when something good came in, and they didn’t want it for themselves. China got a good kitchen set that way. She went over, looked at it, had them hold it, then rushed over to the bank, and withdrew the money. She got her living room set, including the tables and lamps, that way too. She shopped at least two or three times per week for her utensils and clothes until she had everything she needed, then she just shopped for fun. Gradually, she replaced all the clothes he gave her until she had nothing left of him. The process took about four months. Well, maybe the bonsai was his, but they were really hers really. She kept them alive. All she had of her old life was the baby’s birth and death certificate.

THE OTHER HUSBAND

China met him in the grocery store. He was shopping in the bean aisle, like her. Also like her, he was a vegetarian, so, after making sure he wasn’t a Vegan, she invited him for dinner. He had introduced himself as Thomason but would like her to refer to him as Thomas. She made Baked Molasses Beans, Whipped Potatoes, and Sweet Buttered Carrots. It was very sweet, like him. After dinner, he helped with dishes, then sat with her on the red French Provincial couch, to listen to music, and he played the guitar for her. They had the same taste. She told him all about the baby, and he listened, then he hugged her. He let her do all the talking and she called him up just to tell him her problems, work problems mostly. He was always there for her, because he worked nights as a make-up guy at a mortician. As it turns out, he was divorced too, and had a fifteen-year-old daughter. God works in mysterious ways.

The next time, for a protein, she made Avocado Toast Triangles on home-made rye bread with Herbed Asparagus Spears and Buttered Corn-on-the-Cob. She was delighted when he reached for the hot sauce after her. China expressed how she had never met anyone who put hot sauce on their corn. Dan hated corn. The time after that, she made Sesame Seed Teriyaki Tofu with Rice and Cheesy Broccoli, and he gobbled it up. There was nothing she could make that he didn’t like, and he kept telling her how beautiful she was, yet he didn’t try to get her to bed. She wondered. Maybe he was lying.

The first time he kissed her, they were on the red French Provincial couch together. They basked in the peach glow of the lamps on either side of them. The room gave the illusion that fire was warmly crackling. It was their fifth date, but really, he came over every weekend. He slept on the red French Provincial couch, and made blueberry waffles in the morning, then they went to church. Anyway, she crawled in beside him,