“You know I did!”
Compared to what I was becoming accustomed to, this was a pretty tame conversation at the dinner table. Dad sat at the head and grinned. Mom sat adjacent to him. Brother and sister shared a highlight reel of their day.
“So I told that cocksucker…”
“That piece of shit!”
“…and the mother fucker was just glaring at my tits…”
“So I made out with the stripper…”
It wasn’t like any conversation I ever had with my family, but this wasn’t my family. It must be somewhat reassuring to have such an honest and open relationship with immediate family.
“…and then she pulled my tits out without even asking right there on the stage!”
Then everyone laughs. Maybe reassuring isn’t the word I’m thinking about. I’m sure this isn’t what Norman Rockwell had in mind when creating his painting of three generations of family at Thanksgiving Dinner.
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I drove home in a hurry afterwards. I wasn’t even listening to the radio. Our last conversation kept replaying in my head.
“Sorry, Angel, I have to put the dog up then I’ll head over to your place for the night.”
“…”
“Don't get mad, I just haven’t even been home since this morning otherwise I would have done it earlier…”
“Don’t explain yourself to me I’m just really tired and it’d be nice to get to bed at a decent fucking hour or once.”
“…”
Well that was something we could both agree on. With all the juggling, it was an accomplishment to have tomorrow’s lesson plans finished, papers half-way graded, clean clothes ready, and find time to eat before 10:00 PM. If you wanted to spend time with loved ones and family, then you can push that time to 12:00 AM. If your health is important at all, you wake up at 5:30 AM every day giving yourself just enough time to drive back home, let your dog out, feed it, put on sweats, and work out until 7:00 AM.
“Well, if you really wanna go to bed early then I’ll stay at my place tonight. I still have to look at my lesson plans for tomorrow too.”
“Whatever you want just hurry. I’m sick of feeling like and inconvenience.”
It’s that time of year when it’s too cold to leave pets outside at night, but it’s too warm to leave them inside all day. In the summer we’d go running every night; I would clear my head and my dog would get exercise. My dog was gaining weight now. I just didn’t have time to go running like we used to every night. The traffic was going to get me in trouble.
My phone rang.
[INCOMING CALL - MELANIE]
“Nope” I couldn’t deal with that right now. Amy was waiting for me.
It stopped ringing on its own and I pulled up my drive way. Bobby McFerrin played on the radio. Which Bobby McFerrin song? Is there more than one Bobby McFerrin song?
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