Middle Man

The tension hung thick over the
dining room table
and I found great pleasure in
examining my finger nails
and a new found interest in
drawing wildflowers in
the margin of a very important piece of paper.
She'd talk. You'd appear tight,
unmoved by any attempts she made to
make the situation lighter.
Not only was the company odd,
we were surrounded by dizzying legalities
the laying out of a money issue
thousands of dollars passing hands and
I impolitely slid my chair away
and walked outside to kick leaves and
examine the stray cat's broken tail,
leaving the women inside to gossip.
You followed suit-
and we talked about automobiles and
installing hardwoods
Like I was the son you never had.