He had high hopes for the night until the beautiful woman ordered her entrée
On a bed of quite black risotto with sprinkling of blistered tomatoes, an octopus reclined
One arm clutched a sprig of fresh basil. A chef’s arty flair no doubt but he saw a futile
last effort at life by a member of Phylum Mollusca and averted his eyes.
To hear stories of daring escapes in New Zealand. Not hers. The octopus
A slip through a gap in a tank, a slide down a drain. “On YouTube, they’re agile you know,”
she gushed as her scarlet nails sliced. “Intelligent!” He looked up and smiled.
She didn’t mean him. “Smart as a house cat and playful,” she stared with disdain
at his unwitting salmon compliantly slathered in soy ginger glaze
“Sex is a death sentence,” the arch in her eyebrows threatened
His silverware clattered Pinot dripped Waiters smirked “For the octopus?” he pleaded
Her ruby lips smacked, “Dessert?”
He walked home alone quite dejected
Paused at his entry gate, tossed in the keys through ornate wrought-iron bars
Took a quick glance behind, sucked in his stomach and went at it head first
No invertebrate was going to best him tonight!
SueEllen Lovejoy is an emerging writer with an MA in English Literature and a teaching background at Western New England University. She is currently President of a company that provides 401(k) education to employees throughout the country. She is a teacher at heart and poetry lover.
