there it was
he did it so often
it was easy to catch him at it
middle finger salute
instead of stepping back
which was her usual reaction
she stepped toward him
took hold of his wrist
with one hand
with the other she matched
his salute pressing the tabs
of their fingers and knuckles together
making an odd little tent of their fists
she tried to maintain eye contact
but his eyes were drawn to their hands
his brow creased for a moment in surprise
she let a smile
a not so happy sort of smile
play on her face and waited for his eyes to catch it
when he did, he tried to pull away
she held tight for an uncomfortable moment
not letting him go
before her finger pushed at his
only then did she let loose
her grip on his wrist
this time he stepped back
with a slightly nervous laughed
he watched her head tilt
still with that smile
neither spoke
he put his hands in his pockets
cleared his throat
nothing needed said
for hours after he could feel
the specter of her hand on his wrist
her phantom finger tip pressing his
despite his memory of her disapproval
he was eager to do it again
it was an epic fail at prevention
Judith A. Sears
©08/27/2018
…perhaps I will start a collection of middle finger salute photographs there are gobs and oodles out there in the ether…
5,839 Prime Words 