Limited Senses

My prompt is such: "A man, who is spying, can see but not hear his wife as she talks to her ex-husband."

We're at the grocery store. "I'll get some Cheerios," she says, and so I pause the cart at the end of one aisle. She strides away, and I watch her ass sway from side to side as she walks. I'm like a high-schooler sometimes, I know, but my comfort myself with the thought that this is far more than lust. After all, the fact that I still want her even after I've been her husband for seven years must mean something, right?

She pauses in front of a row of yellow boxes, comparing prices, and then reaches out to take one. As she does this, I notice a man walking up behind her, pushing a cart with a baby in it. As Alice turns, a look of recognition crosses her face. Then it's me who recognizes.

The tall, dark haired man is Jeff, her ex-husband. I didn't know much about him, but that high-school feeling came over me and I felt a wave of jealousy pass over me as well. Alice didn't ignore him. Why, honey, why don't you come back down here and kiss me? Show off for him, I don't care. Make me feel like I should.

Now she's talking to him. She smiles. They shake hands. Why the smile? Why does she have to look so happy? She bends down, smiling at the blonde haired baby in Jeff's cart. I can't hear what that bastard's saying to her. The grocery story music is too damn loud.

Now she gestures towards me. Trying not to seem like I'm spying, I turn quickly and pretend to be fascinated by a nearby display of Pop-Tarts. I take a quick glance back at them when I think enough time has passed. They're talking again, paying no mind to me. I wonder how people can read lips. It makes no sense.

Now she laughs. Damnit. Should I go down there and introduce myself? What if she thinks I don't trust her, though. Alice, honey, I trust you--it's Jeff I don't trust.

Jeff is looking at his watch. He says something to her, I stil can't hear. These aisles are too long, and there's a pair of Hispanic ladies chattering in rapid Spanish behind me. Alice nods. She understands, it seems. Making plans for another, more secret, rondezvous I wonder? Then I want to hit myself. I trust her, right?

She starts walking back toward me. It is in this moment I realize how much she means to me. Do I mean the same to her? This encounter with Jeff makes me wonder.

Now she's talking again, to me this time. "Hey baby, why didn't you come say hi to Matt?"

"Matt?" What is she saying? Now I can hear fine, but can't seem to understand.

"You know, from work, my boss?"

"Oh."