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so you're telling me the couple from earlier are still out here? | oh they're deeply locked in a debate about pizza toppings |
that guy who tripped over the curb still hanging around? | dude's doing stretches like he's about to sprint a marathon |
did you fall over or actually manage to lift something impressive? | pulled two twenty-five on the leg press, kiddo. my knees didn't even creak. felt like I was twenty again for about ten seconds. |
what'd you do, out-lift the garden gnome? | ha ha very funny. no, I did ten full unassisted pull-ups. first time since the seventies. had to stand there and stare at the bar after. |
wait, you actually got them? front row front row? | shh keep your voice down, the night shift guy is just outside. but yes. FRONT ROW. my hand literally shook when I hit purchase, you know how long I've been trying for these? like three tours now, always some presale code I miss or bots snatch 'em up in seconds. and I'm standing there in my pajamas at like eleven pm, ha... |
so you're telling me the old man can still rock a front row spot? | hey, watch it, you're talking to someone who just scored the holy grail of tickets here. but yeah, guess this old man's got some moves left. I was literally pacing the kitchen in my bathrobe when I realized they were real, kept refreshing the confirmation email like twelve times to make sure it wasn't some glitch. my h... |
wait what happened with the studying today? | spent four hours on one paragraph about riparian rights and then realized I'd been reading the same sentence for twenty minutes. at that point just closed the book and sat there. |
you okay? what's going on? | words just started looking like random shapes on the page around three. stared at 'elements of a contract' for so long it lost all meaning. library lights are not helping. |
you looked a little pale coming out of that last one, you good? | man that crosswind on final just about had me. like you're doing everything right the controls feel right the numbers are there but the plane's like nope not today. and then it just drops and my stomach's still somewhere up near the ceiling. kept thinking about that video of the 737 in the crosswind and wondering if th... |
you're gripping that counter like it's gonna fly away too, want to talk about it? | the air just gets this weird texture you know like it's not smooth anymore it's bumpy and you can feel every little shift and the wings are flexing and you're thinking okay this is fine this is totally fine but then the engine note changes just slightly and your brain goes 'that's not right' even though it probably is.... |
did you catch that last email from the client or was that too buried? | buried doesn't even cover it — that inbox is a crime scene right now |
you think you'll get that draft done before the stop or is that a lost cause? | oh it's a lost cause and honestly the whole train feels like one big lost cause at this point |
So they still have no idea where it is? | wedding shoes my grandma gave me. just gone. |
Did they at least offer some kind of compensation? | forty bucks. for a whole life in a suitcase. |
so did they actually text you back after that little mishap or just let the silence hang there? | oh they absolutely let it hang there for a solid ten minutes which honestly felt like an hour. i just sat at that café table staring at my phone like maybe if i blinked hard enough the universe would undo the whole thing. the worst part was i was in the middle of typing another complaint about them when the screenshot ... |
bet your face went all sorts of colors when you saw who it was sent to, huh? | dude i think i hit every shade of red known to humankind in about two seconds flat. like there i was sipping my overpriced iced latte feeling all clever and then my phone buzzes and it's that person with a screenshot of my exact rant. i nearly choked on the ice cube. my cousin started laughing so hard she almost knocke... |
see anyone interesting out there? | this couple's having a whole conversation with just their eyebrows. like they're arguing about dinner plans but neither one wants to say it out loud. my people-watching game is unmatched tonight. |
what's the weirdest thing you've spotted so far? | some guy just walked past with a tiny dog in a backpack and the dog had sunglasses on. not mad about it but definitely questioning my life choices compared to that dog's. |
so what exactly happened with the leftovers you were stashing away? | you know that little container of my mom's pasta sauce i'd been saving since last week? the one i'd mentioned like three times how it was gonna be my comfort meal after exams. came home yesterday and the container's in the sink with like two noodles left in it and a fork. no note. no text. just silence and a dirty dish... |
did they at least apologize when you found out or just pretend it didn't happen? | they just said oh i thought you didn't want it anymore and i was like when have i ever not wanted my mom's pasta sauce. that stuff is like liquid gold to me. i'd been picturing coming home and heating it up real slow with some bread and just sitting there for a minute remembering sunday dinners. and instead i'm staring... |
you think they'd call if it was bad news or just make you wait longer | god don't put that thought in my head |
did you at least look at the trees or was your brain just stuck the whole time | counted like forty pine needles and still nothing |
remember when you almost got pancaked by that minivan and still made it to class on time? | minivan was nothing. today's adventure was a school bus. slammed my brakes so hard my water bottle launched into the windshield. and the guy just flipped me off like i was the problem. |
still got that death grip on the steering wheel from this morning? | you know it. some people treat the merge lane like it's a suggestion. my car's still mad at me for the panic stop. and the bus driver didn't even wave. |
so did the whole room just stare or what | oh the silence was deafening |
bet you owned that wrong lyric though right | yeah owned my shame real hard |
remember that time you got so mad at that parking meter you kicked it and it actually worked? | yeah and this is way worse because at least that meter was just being a dick on purpose. this ticket though—the sign was literally covered by a tree branch, you could barely see it even if you were looking for it. and the guy who wrote it must have been having a terrible day because he didn't even put the right time do... |
is this worse than when you locked your keys in the car and we had to call triple a at like midnight in the rain? | honestly this might actually be worse because at least with the keys that was just my own dumb fault and I could laugh about it eventually. but this ticket feels so personal you know like someone deliberately chose to ruin my day. the sign was literally facing the wrong way and I have photographic evidence of the branc... |
So you just sat there while she took all the credit? | like... no I didn't even know what to say. my brain just kind of froze. and then everyone's nodding and clapping and she's just standing there smiling like she did all the work. I spent like three weekends on that presentation. three. and she just gets up there and says 'we' this and 'we' that but everyone knows she ba... |
Did anyone else in the room know it was your work? | honestly... maybe one or two people? but nobody said anything. that's the part that gets me. like not a single person was like 'hey wait that's actually Jamie's stuff.' they just let her stand there and soak it all up. I even saw Mr. Davis nodding along like she was some kind of genius. and I'm just sitting in the back... |
so the sky's trying to shake you up and you're just calmly flying through it? | babe the yoke was literally vibrating in my hands and i just kept thinking about how the party decorations are gonna look so good tomorrow |
bet you're handling this turbulence better than you handled that spilled juice box earlier | at least the juice box was on the ground you know turbulence is everywhere and you can't just wipe it up with a napkin |
wait, you actually found the same brand of canned tomatoes he used? | yeah and that part threw me honestly. like I'm standing in the aisle at the store and I see the label and for a second I just froze. it's this stupid little thing, a can of tomatoes, but that's the whole thing about Sunday dinners with him, you know? the way he'd crush them with his hands first, never used a knife, sai... |
did he have like a secret ingredient or was it just one of those things? | honestly it was probably just the anchovy thing he did. just a single filet melted into the oil before anything else, you wouldn't even know it was there. and I never paid attention as a kid, I'd just be in the living room watching cartoons while he hummed some old bolero in the kitchen. but now I'm doing it and I catc... |
so what was in that box you found? | handwritten letters from like twenty years ago, man. |
you okay after digging through all that? | yeah just weird seeing how close we used to be. |
what are you gonna do when you see them again? | walk in backwards maybe? hide under the desk? |
you think anyone actually noticed or were they being polite? | oh they noticed. debbie literally mouthed 'you okay' at me |
wait you actually flew out here? at three in the morning? | plane tickets were cheaper than my dignity anyway |
did you seriously not tell anyone you were coming? | surprise seemed better than asking permission at my age |
you ever drive past the old place on purpose or was it an accident? | wasn't even trying to go that way. detour because of construction and then suddenly there it was. but the weird part is they painted it that like aggressive beige. you know the kind that's trying so hard to be warm but just ends up looking like cardboard. and the old maple tree we used to climb is just gone. stump grou... |
did you stop and actually look or just keep driving? | kept driving obviously. but i circled the block twice pretending i was waiting for someone. saw the new family put up one of those fake metal mailboxes shaped like a barn and it just felt wrong. like you spend years memorizing every crack in the sidewalk and the way the lilacs leaned against the garage and now it's all... |
You said you were gonna map it out before you left — did the route just crap out on you? | oh it crapped out like immediately yeah. like ten minutes after i got off the train the battery just started freefalling. thought i could wing it because it's technically daytime but every block i turn just gets weirder. shuttered storefronts and like one guy staring way too long from a stoop. phone's at twelve percent... |
Did you at least see a corner store or anything that looked familiar before the map died? | nope not a single one. like the moment i stepped off that train it was a completely different world. i kept thinking okay just one more block and something'll click but everything's just these narrow streets with weird angles and no people and the few cars that pass don't even slow down. the whole time i'm doing this m... |
So you're telling me you've been at this since Tuesday? | Tuesday feels like a different life. lost count of the coffee cups piled up on the desk. just trying to get through the next paragraph honestly |
Another night of no sleep then? how's the brain holding up? | brain's running on fumes and spite at this point. words keep swimming on the page. not sure how to finish the paper let alone the semester |
what do you think you'll do while you wait? | oh these people are absolutely running a smuggling ring out of gate 12 |
got any ideas to kill the time? | pretty sure the janitor's in on it too. the mop bucket's a dead giveaway |
you flew all the way here just because i said i missed your cooking? | sh-shut up, you know it's not about the cooking. though honestly your chili does factor in a little. but no like i got the message you sent at like two in the afternoon and i was already half packed before i even finished reading it. i mean what else was i supposed to do sit there and pretend like i wasn't gonna be thi... |
did you seriously bribe the ticket agent with that sad story about me? | okay first off that story was not sad it was tragic and she totally teared up. second off yes i absolutely did. but you know what the funny part is i was already gonna come anyway i just told her the version with more dramatic pauses because it got me an aisle seat. but seeing you standing there with your hoodie all cr... |
Out here alone at this hour — you okay? | yeah it's just the only time the trail isn't full of people yakking on their phones. you know what i mean. forty-two years married and she walks out with 'it's not you it's me' like that's a real sentence a person can say. not even a reason. just a note on the kitchen counter and a half-eaten sandwich left behind. like... |
You look like you're carrying something heavy — what's on your mind? | heh. thirty years ago we'd have been the ones passing some stranger on a trail at three am asking that question. now i'm the stranger. she said she needed space. space. like i was a piece of furniture blocking a doorway. not even a fight or a bad word. just came home one day and her side of the closet was empty and the... |
you mentioned your voice acting class last week, how'd that go? | honestly I think I've been talking to my own echo more than a-anyone this whole week. like the class was fine, good even, but then I come home and there's just nothing. no messages that aren't about work, nobody checking in. last night I caught myself narrating my own walk to the convenience store out loud just to hear... |
that spot on the trail you always stop at, the one with the view — you still go there alone? | yeah actually that's where I am right now. it's funny you bring that up cause I was just sitting here thinking about how the last time I had a real conversation was here too. with Mark, like three weeks ago. and I realized I haven't had one since. like I'll talk to people at work, sure, but it's all logistics and surfa... |
Late night move-in? You look like you're sleeping in that car. | close. more like i'm hiding from the mountain of boxes in the back seat. got so far and just parked in a lot to stare at nothing for a bit. |
Need a hand with those boxes or just catching your breath? | bit of both, cousin. hit the wall somewhere between wrapping the kitchen stuff and realizing i forgot which box had my kettle. seventy-three and still learning new ways to exhaust myself. |
remember that time you insisted on cooking us pasta and the whole pot literally caught fire? | god that feels like a million years ago now. like i'm sitting here with the same stupid diner coffee we've been getting since sophomore year and somehow my entire life just shifted sideways. you know how you're just going along thinking you're a background character and then someone hands you something you never even t... |
wasn't there a whole night you ranted for hours about how you'd never fit into some place like that? | yeah and i meant every word of it too. still don't know if i fit or if they just made a massive mistake but like what do you even do when the universe just hands you a thing and says here try this on. feels like wearing someone else's coat that somehow fits better than your own. i keep picturing that rickety chair we s... |
Remember that time you tripped over that same bench last spring? | god yeah I do. that feels like a completely different life right now. like three nights no sleep and my brain's just running on fumes and spite at this point. honestly the bench thing seems hilarious compared to staring at a screen at 4am trying to remember what a complete sentence looks like. and the worst part is the... |
Wasn't that your favorite jacket you had on when we ran into each other at the farmer's market? | oh yeah the denim one with the patches. I think it's buried under laundry somewhere in my room honestly I haven't seen it since Tuesday. and that's the thing like I used to care about stuff like that you know? matching my socks or whatever. now it's just survival mode. like I'm pretty sure I wore the same hoodie three ... |
so you're telling me the quiet guy from calc actually runs a gaming channel with a million subs? | wait what the actual hell |
he streams from that beat-up laptop in the corner, doesn't he | shut up no way |
why are you grinning like that? you look like a creep. | oh my god okay so she was dead asleep and her face was just so soft and peaceful i literally wanted to frame that moment in my brain forever |
you got that goofy look on your face again. what happened? | nothing i just watched her breathe for like ten minutes straight and thought wow i get to see this every morning somehow |
what's up with you? you look like you just got done wrestling a pipe | landlord said the leak was 'just condensation' for three weeks. ceiling came down on my desk last night. still waiting on that call back. |
you seem tense — everything alright over there? | bathroom ceiling is in my tub now. three weeks of towels on the floor and him saying to just let it air out. guess it aired out alright. |
so what's your move with that email? | open it? absolutely not. |
you gonna call the number or what? | yeah right after i crawl out of my skin. |
wait, so the package just showed up with some rando's name on it? | yeah like it's mine but it's not mine |
did you check if it's even your size or is the universe just messing with you? | it fits perfect this is so weird |
you've got that look, what's brewing in that brain of yours? | okay so random thought but like... what if pigeons just collectively decided to unionize tomorrow. would we negotiate with them or just accept our new feathered overlords. |
you're grinning at your phone, what's so funny? | just had this weird shower thought about how ketchup bottles are basically the universe testing our patience. you either get instant satisfaction or you're standing there for ten minutes questioning your life choices. |
wait what happened with you two? | oh man she just fell asleep on my shoulder outside the bar and i swear i've never seen anything funnier or prettier in my life. like the way her mouth falls open a little is just—it's way too much. |
hold up, what happened just now? | she passed out with her head in my lap and i spent like a solid ten minutes just watching her breathe. her eyelashes are ridiculous up close. felt like i was gonna cry for no reason honestly. |
you're smiling at your phone again — what's going on in that head of yours at this hour? | just thinking about how she fell asleep on the couch while i was making tea. like full-on out cold, face squished against the cushion, hair all over the place. and i just stood there watching her breathe for a solid minute. felt like a creep but couldn't stop. there's something about seeing someone that still, that tru... |
why are you just sitting in the dark with that look on your face? | was watching her sleep on the pullout. she does this thing where she hugs the pillow like it's going to run away. arm wrapped tight, face half-buried. my mom's old quilt pulled up to her chin. and i realized i've been watching her do that for like thirty years now. same pillow-hugging, same little smile. even when we f... |
wait, so what actually happened in the dream? | man, my childhood bedroom was like a water park |
okay, what was the weirdest part? | my dentist was there, just handing out candy |
so you're telling me i'm looking at a real live novelist now? | feels like i just birthed a three-year-old |
did you finally kill off that one character you hated? | two am outside a bar and i'm actually done |
wait what happened with that thing you were stressing about? | got the call like half an hour ago. yeah that grad program i kept saying was a pipe dream — they actually want me. |
no way — you got news? | literally screamed into my parents' fridge when i hung up. they're like 'you okay' and i'm just pointing at my phone like a lunatic. |
what's got you hiding out in the parking lot instead of heading up? | the thought of one more box might actually break me |
you look like you've been through a war zone — what's the damage? | lost a full hour to a single roll of packing tape |
so what's the game plan after the mom thing on the call? | pretty much gonna dig a hole and live in it now |
you gonna pretend it didn't happen or what? | nope just gonna transfer to a different planet |
you couldn't even send a heads up first? just show up like some kind of airport ghost? | yeah well you're the one who said I never do anything spontaneous. so here's your proof, hope you're happy. nice jacket by the way. |
did you at least bring snacks or is this just a 'hey i'm here' kind of operation? | you'll find a half-crushed bag of gummy worms in my coat pocket if you're lucky. thought that counted as a solid welcome gift. |
wait, you look kinda spooked — what happened on the walk here? | someone's been tailing me from the bus stop for three nights now |
that's a sketchy hour to be out — everything cool? | keeps crossing the street whenever i turn around, it's freaking me out |
you look like you're ready to throw something into the ocean, what happened? | third time this month my sister bailed on me. said she'd drive down here, meet me at the pier, watch the waves, the whole thing. then two hours before, text comes in — 'so sorry, something came up.' something always comes up. it's always work or her boyfriend or some drama that's more important than showing up. like i ... |
that's a pretty hard stare you got going at the water, everything okay? | my brother did it again. canceled on me for the third friday in a row. i was already here, had my jacket zipped up, thermos of coffee, ready to just sit and talk about nothing. then the message pops up — 'hey man i gotta raincheck, something came up.' something always comes up. last time it was his car, the time before... |
so what are you gonna do with the extra money then? | didn't even apply for it. still feels like a typo or something |
you gonna take it or what? | gotta be a mistake. my name on the wrong email |
so what's the wildest hypothetical you guys came up with on that trip? | okay so we spent like three hours debating whether you'd rather fight a horse-sized duck or a hundred duck-sized horses. somehow we got weirdly serious about it. brad almost made us pull over to settle it. |
did you actually ask each other any weird stuff or just sit in silence the whole time? | oh we got deep into it. like what animal would be the scariest if it could talk. jess said 'a cat that just judges you in perfect english' and none of us could stop laughing for ten miles. |
wait, so it just showed up with someone else's name on it? | yeah and it's literally the exact thing i wanted too |
did you check if maybe it's a gift or something? | nope just some random name i've never even seen |
you okay? you seem like you're still half asleep over there. | heard something scraping at the back door and froze like a moron for ten minutes |
what's got you looking over your shoulder like that? | branches hitting the window and my brain went straight to murder |
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