On a whim—
     I said yes.
I went to their place
ready for the awkward tension.
But she’s a good friend.
I’d simply ignore
          the prodding questions
of her boyfriend
and their    uncomfortable   verbal altercations
always ending       in      “babe.”

It was especially
       uneasy
    that night.
He had it in his head
“his girl” and myself shtupped.

She was annoyed,
I attempted cordiality.
He’d be a good lawyer—
          he asked again,
               a different way.
I take it back,
he’d be an awful lawyer.  
He’s           a             ****.
She offers to drive me home.

As we prepare to enter her car,
she noticed one of the tires.
a little deflated—
three nails.

She told me had I declined
the invitation to visit
she’d probably be stranded
on a highway somewhere.

I stood amazed,
knowing my split-second yes
reverberated throughout space,
and time,
revealing an alternate future
now avoided.