MurderVerse

I took a wad of cash and met the ex

Our usual place

She looked good

Looked strong

And put together

Upscale fashionable

High maintenance

Tom Waits was thinking of her when he wrote, Jersey Girl

Had to be

Maybe they were Facebook friends

Or maybe he caught her OnlyFans page

Probably not

For a minute I wished we were still together.

I swept the thought away

Handed her the envelope

She opened it, did a quick count

She smiled, and said, all there.

She said, your dependable, Johnny

Thanks, babe

She said babe with a question mark

"I'm not your babe."

Sorry old habits.

How's the kid?

She's growing up without a father

Maybe I could see her sometime

Maybe when she's older

I said, things have changed, Zoe

What things, she wanted to know

I'm seeing someone

Really

She's stable, she's got a kid of her own

Has a job

I don't need a strange woman taking care of my child

I'd be there with her, nothing will go wrong

You make it sound so easy

A few hours on a Saturday afternoon

Give you a break from watching her

Give me a break, Johnny.

Then she got a look like she was thinking it over

I dunno, can't tell what women are thinking

She said, I dunno, Maybe you could introduce us

Yeah, sure. Sounds great.

Thanks for the money, Johnny

She stuffs the envelope in a Coach bag

Zoe starts the walk to her car.

"Zoe, do you still love me, even a little bit?"

She smiled, "not even a little bit, Johnny."

But that smile

That smile I fell in love with said, you're still on my radar.