PENANCE

The night before I flew back to the U.S. from China, I had sex with my (now) ex husband after we had been completely abstinent for over eight months. It was the most miserable love ever made. It was physically and emotionally painful. The whole time my body was like, “And just what the fuck is this you’re forcing us into?” I guess I shouldn't have been so surprised when I arrived in Chicago with a fierce and fiery urinary tract infection. It was raw. I mean, I had never had it so bad. There were several occasions when I excreted more blood than piss. And the discomfort slash pain slash jetlag kept me up at night. The fever and insomnia went on for five days. And when I finally saw a doctor, she was so alarmed at my white blood cell count that she insisted I take a shot of antibiotics in conjunction with the pills.

Anyway, I’m just remembering all of this because I seem to have cultivated another UTI. But not to worry, I’m rocking the cranberry juice. I pretty much have to because I don’t have any health insurance.