The Get-Together

It was clear that the dog was going to get
a lot of the attention so I sat there and listened
as she talked talk about how happy she was to
have such a great new friend. And then I listened
to the others, one talking about their recent travels,
another about a great new restaurant, and yet another
about how well their kid is doing in college somewhere
up in Washington State. And because I had nothing to say,
I mostly watched the dog, how its face lit up when its owner
petted its head or sometimes gave it a little scratch.
A little scratch being something I could have used,
but not from anyone there. What I really wanted
was for time to pass so I could slip out gracefully—
get to my gym before the night group showed,
sweating onto the floor and the equipment...