Who's That

Priya sent the clip Friday afternoon—

lol from lunch, the subject line.

I watched it four times.

There I am: mid-laugh, head tilted back

the right amount, eyes doing the crinkle

that reads as genuine from across a table.

Marcus was telling the story about the parking garage.

I remember, while he was telling it,

thinking about whether I'd turned the stove off.

The specific anxiety of the stove.

Nothing else from that lunch.

But on the screen I am delighted.

I am the most present person at that table.

My hand comes up to cover my mouth—

the thing I do when I find something funny—

so I must have decided.

I watched it four times.

The laugh belongs to someone

who knows how to be

at a lunch.

I don't know where I was.