Every Saturday, we’ll be posting a new illustration by David Lester. The Mecca Normal guitarist is visually documenting people, places and events from his band’s 27-year run, with text by vocalist Jean Smith.
“Raise your hand in the studio audience if you’ve ever been blamed for causing the problem in a relationship because you don’t always trust your partner?” the blonde, overly made-up TV host says from the stage. “OK, now, of you ladies with your hands up, how many of you have partners who you know have lied to you? OK, very good. Now, of the six of you with your hands still up, how many of you have partners who admit to cheating on their previous partners? Very interesting, still two hands raised. So both of you know your partner has cheated before and that he has lied to you, correct?”
The two women nod silently. They look like they want to sit back down, but the host hasn’t finished with them.
“Have either of you been accused of not trusting a partner who had unprotected sex with the drug-addicted hooker he lived with before he got together with you?”
Audience members laugh inappropriately and turn in their seats. All eyes are on a smallish woman with glasses, wearing a navy blue blazer and … why is she wearing a ball cap? … standing in the middle of the audience, her hand raised.
“She’s not for real,” a woman near the front calls out. “She’s a plant, right?”
“Yes,” the host says. “But her story is true. Sarah M is here today, in disguise, to help us understand why women have difficulty trusting men who lie to them.”
Close-up on the host’s face. “Stay tuned,” she says. “When we come back we’ll talk to Sarah’s husband, a Classic Liar. He claims Sarah is the problem because she doesn’t trust him. We’ll be right back.”
