Respect

David Romanda

I wasn’t interested in what he was saying,  
but I was nodding in agreement. Now and again,  
I gave a grunt of approval. It was a real shame  
they discontinued some model of some car
I can’t now recall. And suddenly he stopped talking.  
You know what? he said. Fuck you. You could  
care less about cars, you’re just humoring me.  
That’s true, I said. I looked down at my shoes.  
I’m sorry, I said. But I’m not sure why I said sorry.  
|I guess I kind of respected him for calling me out.  
His name was Bill or Barry. Or maybe it was Brett.