Hairbrush

David Romanda

I hand her a hairbrush (her brush).

You have the floor, I say.

She says, Brush or no brush,

you’re going to interrupt me

before I can finish.

That’s bullshit, I say.

See?  she says.

You finished your sentence, I say.

At least twenty seconds pass.

She’s holding the brush, but doesn’t speak.

I reach for the brush.

She shakes her head.  She says, I’m not finished.

“Hairbrush” was originally published in Columbia Review. Often, when you’re fighting (arguing) in a relationship, neither party is completely “following the rules”—that’s the breakthrough in this one.