We'll be okay, right? (1052 hits)
Category: NoneRating: 1.72 on 38 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by Fey (View user info) at 2007-08-06 12:38:26 EDT
I cram the cashews into my mouth, dropping a couple in a last ditch attempt to fit them all in. There's salt all over my face as I chew. He watches me swallow and I can't figure out what he's thinking. I don't care. I'm busy, probing my teeth, trying to get the mashed cashew to let go. Sometimes I wish I had a spur or a spike on the tip of my tongue, that way I'd never be without a toothpick. The cashews grip my teeth and my stupid blunt tongue is of no use.
The music drifting in through the slightly open door brings to mind how I imagine Jamaica would feel. Hot, lazy, smooth. He's unconsciously tapping the rhythm with his toes on the red mat. The red mat that still pills and sheds after almost 3 years. He's likewise unaware of his grimace of disgust as the music changes jarringly, abruptly, to some sort of 80's synthetic disco shit. I screw my nose up too. He notices and realises and we laugh together.
I suddenly recall the phone call from this morning, at exactly 0502. It was a shielded number, and it only rang once. Was it some kind of code? A signal? Did he lie to me when he said he didn't know what it could have been? Probably not. My life is not that exciting. I notice that I've spilt something on my top, and it's my last clean one. I'm going to have to brave the laundry in the basement again. I've avoided it for far too long because of the smell of piss in the drying room. Clean clothes shouldn't smell faintly of piss. We've discussed it, I think it's the alcoholics on the second floor, he thinks it's just my imagination.
The weather has turned again, we'd about given up on summer when the heat hit. My work is having trouble with the airconditioning and I sweat. I don't normally sweat, and I don't like sweating. I absently scratch my collarbone, and the dried sweat mixed with dead skin rolls into grey sausages of yuckiness. It sticks under my fingernails. I need a shower.
I call his name loudly, even though he's just across the coffee table from me, and his head jerks up in surprise. I snicker and he scowls and I tell him I'm going to shower. He jerks his head again, in comprehension, and turns his attention back to his computer. I scowl and walk to the bathroom, shedding clothes along the way.
The shower is lukewarm, I stand with my eyes closed letting it run over my face, into my open mouth, holding my breath. I back out of the stream of water and blow out through my nose hard, to clear it of water, and grope around for the shower gel. It's cheap stuff and it smells cheap. My expensive one is all gone, and I haven't been able to get hold of it yet. He pokes his head into the bathroom and tells me he's going out for a while, he'll be back in a couple of hours. I don't have time to respond (Why? Where? Can I come?) before I hear him grab his keys and slam out the front door.
I turn the shower off forcefully, suds ignored, slipping down my stomach, the back of my thigh. What the fuck? Where's he going? I towel off quickly, climb back into my abandoned clothes, ignoring the slight stickiness of warm, used clothing. My car keys are where I left them, in a small metal heap on the hall floor. I pick them up and they jangle. I've never liked keyrings, so I don't have one. I sometimes wonder if people notice.
My car starts on the first try. I'm barefoot because I had to throw my sandals away last week and I didn't want to waste time tying shoelaces. The depth of clutch to throttle isn't as easy to gauge without shoes. I don't know where he's gone, but I think I can guess where he'll go first, and he's right where I thought he would be. He's buying cigarettes at the gas station down the road, I can see his car from a couple of blocks away. He always parks on the footpath.
I slow down, coast, wait and soon enough I'm following him out onto the motorway. I don't get it; what I'm doing, what he's doing, but I don't care. I keep following. So I'm there, right behind him (he never was any good at keeping an eye on his rearview mirror, he failed his licence once because of it) when he pulls in at a house I don't know.
She meets him on the step, they kiss hello, and I don't know what I'm doing anymore. But my car, the one I'm sitting in, is crossing her lawn. Her dry, brown, patchy, ugly lawn, and I mow down her mailbox on the way. Someone's yelling, he's waving his arms, and I drive up, onto the step, my bare foot pressing down. My head hurts and I don't know why, it all goes black.
I think we'll be okay.
User Reviews
Submitted by woolfe (user info) at 2008-06-04 04:18:34 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by CaptainThorns (user info) at 2007-09-27 12:11:53 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Not sure why I didn't rate this last time I read it but....excellent. My second favorite short story of your creation. It was the little added details such as describing the lack of a keyring that did it for me.
Submitted by ArnieGeddon (user info) at 2007-09-27 04:11:22 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
http://www.ubersite.com/m/93160#2534306
oh and I missed this little retort. You are fucking with the sequence marie fredriksson. I make fun of your dumb little country and it's ugly inhabitants, you respond with with your banal diatribe. One turn at a time. like i_can_get_you_a_toe with 'her' brothers.
And the reason Steve Devine played for your hopeless bunch of under-achieving fagatroids, is because he couldn't get a gig in the mighty Australian Wallabies, and your lot picked him up because, as it happens - quite regularly, the two best scrum halves in the world were Australian (but steve was too unmighty for the most winniest world cups winners of all time), and lo, your incy-wincy pissant poor peoples country wanted him to replace that dick muppet moron justin marshall.
but thank you for your unique point of view. You remind me of joedaddy when he was young and stupid.
And regarding the title of this post? You'll be fine, right up until the juggernaut, the irresistable green and gold steam train of justice that is The Wallabies, the winniest team of all world cup history, tears your team a big collective new one, and realises its destiny of three world cups, which makes half of them, and we get to smirk at how cool it is that graham henry is crying, and that we can use pictures of him sobbing like a fag as wallpaper on our computers for the next four years.
Submitted by ChaosJester (user info) at 2007-09-04 14:26:37 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Just got around to reading this.
...
Kicker of All Ass, Indeed.
Now, if only you would do this more often, I would gladly be your ghey, dancing panda.
Submitted by Fey (user info) at 2007-08-21 07:19:30 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Thanks, orph.
Submitted by orph (user info) at 2007-08-21 07:08:21 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
This was really good.
Submitted by i_can_get_you_a_toe (user info) at 2007-08-15 06:37:24 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by Fey (user info) at 2007-04-06 11:34:07 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
May I bandwagon this?
--
I was randomly going through posts and I think you should, as a fellow kiwi girl
http://www.ubersite.com/m/100462
Submitted by azurefroz (user info) at 2007-08-13 15:55:30 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Sorry, I didn't read this but I think you are swell.
Submitted by JonnyX (user info) at 2007-08-08 17:33:16 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by Fey (user info) at 2007-08-07 07:58:18 PDT (#)
Ranking: 0
I'm sorry, no.
Johansson is Swedish, Johansen is in fact Norwegian.
Submitted by EmissionImpossible (user info) at 2007-08-08 11:12:52 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
Yeah im a weirdo too!! What of it sister!!!!!!!!!!!
Submitted by sexualchocolate1984 (user info) at 2007-08-08 10:57:19 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
This was OK, but there was something missing... can't quite put my finger on it.
....rape?
... could be......
... suppose it wouldn't hurt.
Submitted by mynameisandy (user info) at 2007-08-08 05:48:59 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
I read it.
I liked it.
Submitted by TheUniter (user info) at 2007-08-07 18:37:05 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
1.5
Submitted by scourge (user info) at 2007-08-07 17:19:41 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
formulation seemed awkward. and the word 'yuckiness' grated on me. it seemed out of place.
liked the overall piece anyway.
i forgot i had previously read this until i went through the reviews.
this reviews is in reverse.
Submitted by Fey (user info) at 2007-08-07 13:01:05 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by messmind (user info) at 2007-08-07 12:20:50 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Things can only get better from here.
--
Yes. Unless she's killed or maimed them, in which case it could get kinda nasty. But essentially, yes, better. Or at least; things can get. Eh?_____________________________________________________________________
Submitted by loki (user info) at 2007-08-07 11:56:41 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Good visually.
Now I'm depressed.
--
Thanks. And sorry. Have a glass of wine and some cashew nuts, it'll all get better immediately
_____________________________________________________________________
Submitted by Progr3ss (user info) at 2007-08-07 06:00:59 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
Yeah we'll be ok...
--
Thank God! I don't know what I'd've done else!
_____________________________________________________________________
Submitted by Circe (user info) at 2007-08-07 05:33:53 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Awesome. It has that ghola-esque hint about it... no names, he/I or he/she, grubby surroundings... but with details, and story, and movement. Nicely done.
--
Ah, Circe. I'm just going to bask in the warm glow of this for a short while, don't mind me...
_____________________________________________________________________
Submitted by rorrim (user info) at 2007-08-07 03:06:57 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
ok!
--
Phew.
_____________________________________________________________________
Submitted by EmissionImpossible (user info) at 2007-08-07 03:05:14 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
Weirdo.
--
Hello Pot. I'm Kettle.
_____________________________________________________________________
Submitted by TheUniter (user info) at 2007-08-06 20:55:21 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
--
TheUniter didn't even think this was a 1.5. Sigh
_____________________________________________________________________
Submitted by mynameisandy (user info) at 2007-08-06 19:53:28 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
I'll read this later.
--
Ehm. OK. You do that.
_____________________________________________________________________
Submitted by i_can_get_you_a_toe (user info) at 2007-08-06 18:31:47 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
noice.
--
Cheers.
_____________________________________________________________________
Submitted by scourge (user info) at 2007-08-06 18:25:47 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
'...and the dried sweat mixed with dead skin rolls into grey sausages of yuckiness.'
and
'I turn the shower off forcefully...'
I didn't love these two lines. Other than that, this was a nice little piece.
--
Because of the wording? The second one (grey yuckiness) is supposed to be vaguely repellent, but was it that or the way I formulated the sentence you didn't love?_____________________________________________________________________
Submitted by SgtHartman (user info) at 2007-08-06 17:53:31 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
holy fuck man...
"I WILL NOT BE IGNORED MICHAEL!!!!!"
--
No, she will not. If she has to say it with a car, then so be it.
_____________________________________________________________________
Submitted by messmind (user info) at 2007-08-06 17:36:48 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
right
--
Thank goodness. I was getting worried.
_____________________________________________________________________
Submitted by HurtByTheSun (user info) at 2007-08-06 17:25:27 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
Scary chick.
--
You only say this because you empathise with the lying cheating barstard.
<stares at you without blinking for a long time>
_____________________________________________________________________
Submitted by rob_berg (user info) at 2007-08-06 17:13:58 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Awesome-ness.
ATTENTION FELLAS : DON'T FUCK WITH FEY.
--
Not while I'm whitetrash driving barefoot, anyway. At all other times, feel free to fu- Eh. No. On second thoughts, what he said._____________________________________________________________________
Submitted by ilikesteak (user info) at 2007-08-06 15:47:18 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
But did you shower FORCEFULLY?
--
But of course. Is there any other way to shower?
_____________________________________________________________________
Submitted by inion_de_trua (user info) at 2007-08-06 15:40:23 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
--
No Comment, huh? Sigh
_____________________________________________________________________
Submitted by Wompom (user info) at 2007-08-06 14:53:53 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Woo! I never thought of turning off a shower with FORCE.
--
Yes well. You probably aren't a Jedi Knight then, are you? My powers of deduction are stunning.
_____________________________________________________________________
Submitted by DirtyHarry (user info) at 2007-08-06 14:02:49 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Good.
--
Damning me with faint praise Comment
_____________________________________________________________________
Submitted by Crystle (user info) at 2007-08-06 13:51:17 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
--
Not a single comment?!
_____________________________________________________________________
Submitted by Ballare (user info) at 2007-08-06 13:33:03 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Comment
--
Ah, comment!
_____________________________________________________________________
Submitted by Brdn_Nkd (user info) at 2007-08-06 13:28:30 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
--
No comment?!
____________________________________________________________________
Submitted by monkeyswithguns (user info) at 2007-08-06 13:07:54 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
--
No Comment?
_____________________________________________________________________
Submitted by Merlina (user info) at 2007-08-06 12:46:08 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
--
No Comment.
_____________________________________________________________________
Submitted by messmind (user info) at 2007-08-07 12:20:50 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Things can only get better from here.
Submitted by loki (user info) at 2007-08-07 11:56:41 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Good visually.
Now I'm depressed.
Submitted by Progr3ss (user info) at 2007-08-07 06:00:59 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
Yeah we'll be ok...
Submitted by Circe (user info) at 2007-08-07 05:33:53 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Awesome. It has that ghola-esque hint about it... no names, he/I or he/she, grubby surroundings... but with details, and story, and movement. Nicely done.
Submitted by rorrim (user info) at 2007-08-07 03:06:57 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
ok!
Submitted by EmissionImpossible (user info) at 2007-08-07 03:05:14 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
Weirdo.
Submitted by TheUniter (user info) at 2007-08-06 20:55:21 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
Submitted by mynameisandy (user info) at 2007-08-06 19:53:28 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
I'll read this later.
Submitted by i_can_get_you_a_toe (user info) at 2007-08-06 18:31:47 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
noice.
Submitted by scourge (user info) at 2007-08-06 18:25:47 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
'...and the dried sweat mixed with dead skin rolls into grey sausages of yuckiness.'
and
'I turn the shower off forcefully...'
I didn't love these two lines. Other than that, this was a nice little piece.
Submitted by SgtHartman (user info) at 2007-08-06 17:53:31 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
holy fuck man...
"I WILL NOT BE IGNORED MICHAEL!!!!!"
Submitted by messmind (user info) at 2007-08-06 17:36:48 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
right
Submitted by HurtByTheSun (user info) at 2007-08-06 17:25:27 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
Scary chick.
Submitted by rob_berg (user info) at 2007-08-06 17:13:58 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Awesome-ness.
ATTENTION FELLAS : DON'T FUCK WITH FEY.
Submitted by ilikesteak (user info) at 2007-08-06 15:47:18 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
But did you shower FORCEFULLY?
Submitted by inion_de_trua (user info) at 2007-08-06 15:40:23 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Wompom (user info) at 2007-08-06 14:53:53 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Woo! I never thought of turning off a shower with FORCE.
Submitted by DirtyHarry (user info) at 2007-08-06 14:02:49 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Good.
Submitted by Crystle (user info) at 2007-08-06 13:51:17 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Ballare (user info) at 2007-08-06 13:33:03 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Comment
Submitted by Brdn_Nkd (user info) at 2007-08-06 13:28:30 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by monkeyswithguns (user info) at 2007-08-06 13:07:54 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Merlina (user info) at 2007-08-06 12:46:08 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment