[i]
☼ ○ ▬
On the clock at China Wok. Frustrated at work. Delivering to unprofitable customers. Dealing with some of the same frustrations I was dealing with yesterday in waking life. I recall half waking up and being disappointed with the dream. Later, after delivering somewhere, I spark a love affair with a handicapped girl; maybe she's autistic. Everything is consensual but she's constantly feeling these spurts of pain every ten minutes on certain parts of her body making it difficult for us to have sex. We're trying to hide our relationship from her brother who is this macho homeboy with a fixation for hip-hop. We convince him we're just rehearsing a dance routine for school.
▬ ○ ☼
Waking up at 11 a.m.
Strawberry Toaster Pastries. Orange Juice.
All day shift at China Wok.
A black dude just ordered spare rib tips and is waiting at a table. He commands his phone to call somebody, "Call Shania."
Apparently the phone called another girl he didn't want it to. He mutters to himself, "Don't call that bitch! Shit."
He fumbles with the touch pad trying to undo the call.
Peanut Butter Bagel. Pretzel Slims with Hummus. Honey Green Tea.
The day continues in a blur.
Banana.
Delivering an order off Harper's Road. Three little girls answer the front door. The youngest one screams at the top of her lungs when she sees me, in a playful way. She continues in spurts. Does she even realize how deafening her voice is?
Tofu with Broccoli, Carrots, Onions, and Rice in Garlic Sauce.
Ana tags along on the last hour of my shift.
Her: "I thought about cutting my hair today."
Me: "What? You think that's the root of all your problems?"
Her: "I think my life would be easier."
Back home. Ana bakes up something special in the kitchen. Darren walks in unannounced. He was in town just for the day. He offers me a big hug and slap on the back. We haven't seen this character in over a month. Kevin buys a 24-pack of PBR's and we reconnect as a 1435 family. Ana finishes the Chocolate Chip Cupcakes, which turn out delicious despite her mild disappointment. I try to reassure her these are perfect. Darren talks about how great him and Devon are living up in Radford in comparison to the chaos here at 1435...
"Dude, I vacuum every other day. I come home and all the pictures on the wall are still in tact."
...
I convince Kevin, Darren, and Ana to ride bikes down to the oceanfront. There's a wonderful pre-autumn chill in the air. Kevin wears his brown leather jacket with the American flag on it. Darren wears his classic black leather jacket. Ana's strutting a smooth black and white motorcycle-looking jacket. And I've got on a thin red and white hoodie. We look good together adventuring and chatting.
Down near Grommet Island we discover a dead bat on the ground. A fellow bat, possibly a friend, was either mourning for him or feeding off his remains.
In the middle of all the excitement Darren admits something heartfelt...
"You know? I really missed you guys!"
...
I lead us all to the middle school across the street from Elliott's on 16th Street. Throwing the playground ball around – dunking – Foursquare – Wall Ball. At some point the ball gets kicked up onto the roof of the school. I don't hesitate to find a way to climb up there and retrieve it.
Back home. Settling down.
Sleep shortly after 4 a.m.
[i] All images by me.
No comments:
Post a Comment