Well… tonight you don’t get a poem. You get a super short story. Enjoy.
Getting To Know You
I sat down at the bar and ordered a whiskey, neat. She sat down next to me a few minutes later. We exchanged greetings and continued to drink in silence for a quarter of an hour. Somewhere around the beginning of my third whiskey she struck up a conversation. I learned that we were from the same county and had lived most of our lives within thirty miles of each other. She told me she was recently widowed for the third time. Not knowing what to say I turned back to my drink.
The drunk to her left asked her, “What did your first husband die from?”
“Food poisoning.” was all she said.
“Well, what did your second husband die from?” he continued on.
“Food poisoning.” she responded and took another drink.
“So, let me guess, the third one died of food poisoning too, right?” the fellow was belligerent.
“No,” she said quietly.
“Well, what did the third guy die from?” he bellowed.
“Knife wound.” she said, looking into her glass.
“Knife wound?” he was puzzled.
“Yes, he wouldn’t eat his dinner…” she whispered.
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Cheers!