Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Five scenes from the last two weeks:

1. Forgetting my cell phone set to silent in my purse and taking it out late in the evening only to find on the screen a text message attached to an unrecognized area code, but still knowing instinctively as my heart careened toward my rib cage who it was from. Mastering my reflexive urge to throw the telephone across the room, like finding a cockroach on a plate of cookies.

2. Sitting half-drunk on a too-high stool in a crowded bar, telling lies to an irritating stranger with my favorite girlfriend, much less interested in the conversation than in the story it will make for later.

3. Crouching on my living room floor enjoying the satisfying snick of my dressmaker's shears through pink and black fabric, and the way the sound melded with the soft music wafting from my stereo. Breathing in deeply the smell of soup cooking in a shiny-skinned pot, and contentedly admiring the glow of the raindrops in the streetlamps just out the window.

4. Nestling happily in the corner of a booth in our regular brunch spot, hands curled around a cup of coffee, humming along with the Beatles and watching out the bright window for my friends.

5. Sitting laughing at the bar and realizing that a familiar stranger is standing in front of me. Feeling all of my cells lean forward without permission when he bends forward to examine my Spider Man bandaid and thinking, well, hello there. And then immediately oh no, not this again.

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