The Wardrobe’s Best Dressed: The Familiar by Sarah Kain Gutowski

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Backseat Scores

It’s not like we drew up charges and nailed them to the door.
One morning my ordinary self appeared—much older
of course, than we’d seen her last, yet still her essential

ordinary self. So dependable. So not extraordinary.
But the house couldn’t hold us all—not enough
hot water, only so much space on the family couch.

My extraordinary self took it badly, jumped
fully clothed into denial. She made claims
about promises, sacrifice, and betrayal. Quite frankly,

it was embarrassing. My ordinary self moved
around her in a tidy silence, sweeping the broken dishes
off the floor. Then my extraordinary self

changed tactics: She took the children to a waterpark,
a carnival, and the arcade. Next, she bought
two sets of crotchless panties and took my husband

on long, indulgent car rides. She cooked elaborate meals.
And yet my dog liked my ordinary self more—
she never forgot to feed him—and the children ran to her

with their cuts and sores. Even my husband preferred
my ordinary self’s predictable morning sex to roadside
backseat scores. My extraordinary self had to admit

defeat. My ordinary self would stay and she would leave.
That last night while the family watched The Avengers
she curled fetal on the carpet and wept noisily at our feet.

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