the excuse

two brothers walk into a dentist's office. this is a riddle.

two brothers walk into a dentist’s office.

they are both part of a joke.

one is forty years old and the youngest son 

in a family of daughters.

the other is his kid brother and a little blurry

‘round the edges. that’s the punchline.

only one of them needs a cavity removed.

the other -- and it’s not 

the excuse to see a pediatrician

in the first place -- takes a seat

and smiles at the girl two chairs down.

this is both before and after

she’s had her lidocaine injection

so she doesn’t really smile back.

that’s the second contradiction of this story.

they make some small talk but

not the awkward kind and he notes

after a few jokes are exchanged

and offence is not that she seems mature

for her age. when she smiles this time

it’s crooked. she covers it and he laughs.

it would be funny if she told someone this.

it should be funny. it is, a little.

he leaves behind his brother,

his phone number, and an inflated ego.

for two days he seems content

to wait out the text message until

it arrives and he is quick on the draw.

she’s in the car. it’s dark out.

she tells him she can’t call right now.

that’s fine. he’s on her side.

tomorrow works too. he tells her,

i can’t wait to see your face again.