They Missed My PhD Graduation—So I Used The Empty Seats To Tell The Truth

between expressions—lipstick half-applied, eyeliner wing slightly uneven, eyes wide and blank with shock that shouldn’t have been shock at all.

They weren’t coming.

Again.

After all the promises, after all the carefully mailed tickets, after all my pathetic hoping—they weren’t coming.

I sat down heavily on the closed toilet lid because my knees suddenly continue reading …