in which it all could have been just fine

Bob and I were sitting outside of Koots Greet Tea illegally. Meaning we hadn’t bought anything from Koots Green Tea. And the little ceramic plaque that kindly asked us not to do that had become a coaster for my bottled water. Bottled water purchased from somewhere else.

(Koots? Yes. Koots. Didn't they know that was slang for vagina? Didn't anyone tell them?)

I had asked him if he wanted to go see The Hold Steady. And woven in his reply (of no) was that he was now a fan of the Arcade Fire. He might have been a fan the whole time we’ve know each other. Almost 7 months on that day, 5 of them crappy. But I had no idea. And knowing it now made the sleeveless t-shirts he wore under other t-shirts or around the house suddenly not all right. These were homemade sleeveless t-shirts. Not store bought. Oversized. Armholes almost dipping down to his waist. “White.”

I had overlooked these t-shirts for 7 months, 5 of them crappy. I had decided to find his scissoring skills “cute” and his ability to resist the temptation of new t-shirts “thrifty.” Figuring he’s like the secret millionaire that lives next door to you in the cardboard box with the 1982 Honda Civic that backfires. I can respect that. That fuck the Jones’ attitude. Fuck Mrs. Jones on her fucking brand new Pottery Barn dining room table. Rip her J. Crew khaki capris off her Bally’s Total Fitness body and spank her recently hot stone massaged ass. Yeah! I can completely get behind that. Even better if you make her late for a PTA meeting. But now that he likes the Arcade Fire “a lot” my house of Bob cards fell in slow motion all over the patio we were not supposed to be sitting on.

I think this is where I tell you why. But I sound like a pretentious ass. Like the kind of person who would link the acceptance of wardrobe choices to one’s favorite music or something. But they suck and not in a specific way. That’s what’s so terrible about them. They suck in the same way all emo bands suck. With their accordions and girl back up singers and chain smoking. Can you please stop looking at your shoes? Really? Can you? I like bands that kick those band’s asses. And whack them over the head with guitars and mic stands and stuff. Keep in mind the man who stated his preference is a 41 year old recovering do-it-your-fucking-self punk rocker. He has balls (!) that apparently retreat up into his groin when he presses play on Neon Bible. Special Edition.

“Do you like them?”

“Not really, no.”

(The building above us was empty when he and I met. And now the condo patios have outdoor furniture and potted plants polka dotting the once quiet facade. It was a nice day that day. Breezy and sunny. Blue skies. I like it when birds fly higher than you expect birds to fly. I remember looking up and settling my view on a wooden bench on what could have been the 25th floor. Birds zipping by. Landing on railings. When they are up that high and we look like specs of dust moving around do they know we are the same things that scare them away when we walk by and fill birdbaths for them so they can be clean.)

All of a sudden I wished for peeling off pink nail polish to be on all 10 of my fingers and we started talking about something else. Lunch was almost over and we both had to head back to our 9 to 5s. Or 10 to 4s. Or sometimes 11 to 3s (with a lunch break, of course.) We stood at the foot of Denny Hill and he reached out to hold my index finger on my right hand.

“Oh. That’s your sore finger. I’m sorry.”

“Yeah ... it is.”

He works one way. I work the other. It was just me walking up Denny Hill. Like it’s usually just me walking up it two/three times a day. It’s steep. Could be stairs steep. And each time I walk up it’s different. Sometimes easy. Sometimes hard. My thighs will ache or my calves will hurt. And if I had to predict how it would feel each time at the base and evaluate my prediction each time at the top, I’d be wrong except for the times I got lucky. It’s the same hill every single time. But I’m a different girl.