backstage, the ventriloquist wept.
he shook one of his two dolls at a ceiling fan.
his wife in the show was not his real wife
but she put her forehead on the back of his neck
just the same. his cell phone rang
and the show wife made a little joke
of having the second doll answer.
I thought of my mother and my father
safely
in third person

they were taking turns moving shampoo
through my hair
as I hummed.