drunk dates over coffee

An old boyfriend invited me out for coffee today;

I discovered he was a member of AA

after watching him squirt a few shots of vodka

into his raspberry frappuccino. My mother started

drinking decaf after my father left her

and swore off caffeine because it made her feel

too much like she did when he kissed her:

dizzying, an ache, firecrackers popping at 4 am

by neighborhood children who accidentally burned

their cats’ hair off with them and had to wait

five years for it to grow back.

But when my ex’s hand mistakenly brushed mine

across the table, I remembered our first date

and how he wept so hard it ruined his erection

like a fire hose putting out water,

so I thought what the hell

and poured a few shots of vodka into mine too.