The Two Kinds of Decay

Tableau Vivant

Tableaux vivants, living paintings, were planned for a winter gala at the Fogg Museum. I was part of a Monet painting and had to wear a pink gown with a plunging neckline. The tube showed. I pulled the bodice up. The top of the bandage still showed. A square of gauze and a frightening bump. I let it show. One girl saw it backstage and turned white and said my name as if she felt she had to.

The way someone says your name when you’re making love and you know it’s the only time you’ll ever make love, and you aren’t thinking about your partner’s name, and you wish he hadn’t said yours.