Do you remember?

She seems crisper these days
And as I return to the table clutching drinks
brittle laughs are telling us all
how much happier she is
And do we remember the awful times?
Her enforced ‘Walks of shame’
Early in the morning in his poxy old diving shoes?
You nod and coo your support
whilst I offer “thank goodness he’s gone,”
my head ducked firmly into my pint.

Later, in bed
whilst my fingers stroke the small of your back
I remember,
I actually do remember
How he would carry her bags on given up weekends
How she’d titter insults tipsy till
Even her stomach was done with her
And he alone would be there to hold back her hair
And that time
That one time
one of her heels had snapped
He’d carefully strapped her obnoxious into the back of the car
And let her soak up the safety of his bed
while he went to coach kids rugby at sunrise.

Now the guy’s a villain.
I didn’t technically know him, but we know her
And so I guess that I must grumble his name
everytime she talks about how he split the dinner bill
But secretly, encased within me
I offer him a psychic thumbs-up
Because if it all goes wrong with us
What kind of monster will I become?