she left in a huff

every now and then,

i'd say

something stupid

or insensitive, which

is hard to believe,

and the woman

i was dating at the time,

would leave the room

in a huff.

i'd watch her put her

clothes on,

grab her coat,

slip into her shoes, then

take her leftover

salmon from the fridge,

and without a word,

storm out the door.

sometimes leaving

it open, but most times

giving it a punctuation mark slam.

i'd sit there and think,

was it something i said.

hmmm.

sometimes they'd

come back in,

or phone me on their

way home,

to give me what for,

i'd hold the phone

away from my ear,

and muster out a few

i'm sorries for

whatever it was i did, or said,

i'll never do it again,

i promise,

i'd tell her while i flipped

through channels,

holding the remote,

but usually it all smoothed

out by the end

of the week and she came

back over carrying

an apologetic pot roast

in her arms.