Brian Kelly Irons

When I woke, there was a knife in my hand. Not bloody, thank goodness, but dirty. Like it had been used to dig a hole in the backyard. I don’t recall needing a hole dug, but if I did I wouldn’t use a kitchen knife. I noticed that the knife, although a peculiar thing, was not one of my own. It was an ordinary knife; not special in any way I could see. And yet there was something oddly familiar about it.

I stepped into the kitchen to find that Maggie had not yet put the coffee on. Not exactly a divorceable act but certainly one to cause an early morning disagreement that would have us both wishing that we had purchased more sugar at the market yesterday. No need to fuss about it while she still lay sleeping. There are many other things to ponder on a Sunday morning. For example: why is this knife still in my hand? I noted movement from the bedroom and was excited to see my lovely Maggie stepping through the transom like a blonde angel in furry slippers. She indicated that she wasn’t feeling herself but she was thankful that I had put the coffee on. I, of course, let it go.

Something was wrong. I sensed a vibration in the energy of the moment. With her coffee in hand, Maggie moved passed me to snatch the newspaper and a banana. Isn’t that odd? I thought to myself. How could she have a full cup of coffee with a not-yet-ripe banana, and not make mention of the knife in my hand? She moved around me once again and settled onto one of the stools at the kitchen counter as if there was nothing out of the ordinary. There was a solitary anger cascading through my nervous system. It came to rest at the top of my shoulders, and I chose to pay it no heed.

After her second cup of coffee, she informed me that we were going for a run. It was a beautiful morning, I told her, but I was in no condition to run anywhere. There was currently still a knife in my hand. This needed to be handled first, before anything else. She squinted her eyes and tilted her head as if she had no comprehension of the state that I was in. This was now a cause for severe concern, but there was no need to start a discord. I could figure this out on my own, right?