farewell to suburbia

a slip of paper,
from the stack in her dressing table drawer
blue and delicate
with its glittering monogram
her “M”
his “J”
and their shared “W”,
met him in the kitchen.
she had left it there,
where he would see it
folded over,
next to the glass
and the bottle.
no explanation
or request for forgiveness
or acceptance was offered
no regrets expressed
about the plans to visit Paris
and walk along the Champs Élysées.
she would still go-
he knew.
and he read.
« Je ne vous aime pas.
Au revoir »