I saw her get into a car with a strange man, he said.
Not the man she’s living with, he meant.
A man I didn’t know, he meant.
She was smiling.
I saw her get into a car with a strange man, he said.
Like a whore, he meant.
Like she didn’t know, he meant.
Like it was all right.
I saw her get into a car with a strange man, he said.
Out in the open, he meant.
Without shame or stealth, he meant.
Of her own free will.
If he knew, it would tear him apart, he said.
His eyes should be opened, he meant.
I’m going to tell him, he meant.
I’ll stand by him.
I saw her, he said.
I saw her.
“The Witness” was published in the anthology, Lovers and Liars, Saturday Afternoon Press, Los Angeles, 1992.