Caren Krutsinger Poet Free verse

She Always Cancels

It is midnight when I remember a friend is coming early in the morning to play in the studio with me.
I really should go to bed.
Which friend? My husband asks.  
They are all the same to him.  He does not know them. They belong to me, usually brought home from work.
She is the one who always cancels, I tell him.
I am pretty sure she will cancel.
Six hours float by, and I wake with a start. Should I clean the house?
She always cancels, my muse argues. Agreeing, I go back to sleep.
I oversleep, waking again at 9; she is supposed to be here in twenty minutes.
My heart is pounding.
I grab the cell phone.  Look for her cancellation.
A sigh of relief.
She cancelled at 8:23 via text.
Sorry, she says. Stomach flu again.
She has the stomach flu more often than children go to school.
I am relieved that she is consistently unreliable.
Also relieved I did not go out of my way.
I invite her back next week.
It is a game we play.

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Tom Cunningham July 18, 2018 at 2:08 AM Haha, we all have friends like that, you get to the point whet you just get on with things, don't know what id do if they actually turned up lol Caren Krutsinger July 18, 2018 at 5:20 AM I would have been shocked actually if she had shown up.

Reason A. Poteet July 17, 2018 at 3:35 PM Wonderful how you made such a fine piece from such a mundane event as cancelling an app't. Absolutely readable and relatable. I have been so happy sometimes when folks didn't show up. Caren Krutsinger July 18, 2018 at 5:20 AM Hahaha Me too!

Ilene Bauer July 17, 2018 at 3:30 PM i used to have a similar game with a friend who always arrived late to wherever we were meeting. i love the way you told the story...