The Bed (1210 hits)
Category: NoneLabels: crap:non-fiction
Rating: 1.9 on 41 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by Circe <fickle.muse.at.gmail.com> (View user info) at 2004-11-20 01:53:52 EST
The bed is just the right size. He lives alone, in this small bright space at the top of the stairs. He lives alone, and he sleeps alone, and this bed is just big enough for him to stretch out. The ceiling slopes overhead and the railing around the stairwell fences it in on one side. His bed. Perfect.
He carries her suitcase up the stairs. She follows, looking around curiously. Everything is new, and everything is different, and her ability to be fascinated by it all is part of what makes him love her. She laughs when she sees the bed.
"We're going to crowd each other something awful."
"Well, I was thinking you'd sleep on the floor. That's my bed, you know."
They both laugh; of course she'll sleep in the bed. She's flown almost a full day to be here, to touch him, and she'll be beside him at night when the lights go out and the room is full of whispers.
The bed changes size overnight. From being the perfect size, it goes to being far, far too small. His elbows are in her ribs and she moves to his side of the bed as she sleeps. For days, they wake up every morning cranky and tired.
She snores.
He grinds his teeth.
She kicks.
He steals the blankets.
She does this foot-twitching thing when she's asleep that makes the whole bed vibrate.
He talks incoherently in a language she doesn't understand.
They both carry on like children when they're sleep deprived.
And slowly, without either of them really noticing, the bed gets bigger. Soon it's big enough that they're getting a good nights sleep. It's big enough that they don't feel crowded. It's big enough for both of them. They still tease each other and joke about being impossible to sleep beside, but there's no venom in it.
They are silent on the ride to the airport.
They talk quietly over coffee.
She grips his hand as she checks her luggage.
They buy a book for her to read on the plane.
They are trying to delay the moment of her departure, but time creeps forward and the line forms at the gate.
One more kiss.
A hug.
No tears this time.
A craned neck, looking for one last sight of that beloved face.
Wave and slip through the gate.
He walks up the stairs, his feet heavy. His sanctuary, his small bright space at the top of the stairs, is dull with the lack of her. He tugs off his shoes and falls into bed.
He stretches out for the first time in weeks. There's no solace in the once-perfect spaciousness of his bed. He looks at the sloping ceiling, and thinks he can smell her hair. It takes a moment for the realization to sink in that his bed has grown far too large, and is far too empty.
User Reviews
Submitted by Unabonger (user info) at 2005-02-22 13:42:02 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
sounds like me and my chick...
Submitted by nrduncan (user info) at 2005-02-22 13:27:40 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Istaros (user info) at 2004-12-08 15:58:42 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Bigmike (user info) at 2004-12-04 11:09:59 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
We have a king size bed. It's still not big enough sometimes between kids and dogs and kids and kids and more dogs.
Submitted by Circe (user info) at 2004-11-30 22:28:57 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Chinaski - Whatever story you're talking about, I never read it. I wrote this because of something my fiance said after I left Holland.
Submitted by Chinaski (user info) at 2004-11-30 20:43:14 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
this (mostly the beginning) sounds EXACTLY like a short story I've read. it was by theodore sturgeon or bradbury or someone like that. perhaps zelazny. and i kid you not, it sounds just like this.
sorry for the 0.
Submitted by precision (user info) at 2004-11-30 20:34:00 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by wookie (user info) at 2004-11-24 16:32:00 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Iago (user info) at 2004-11-24 16:31:26 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
really, really good.
Submitted by Caulaincourt (user info) at 2004-11-24 16:18:40 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No one farted in bed in your story :(
Awseome post otherwise! :)
Submitted by i_walk_alone (user info) at 2004-11-22 15:30:26 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
i dont just talk in my sleep, i yell random obsenities . . . freaked the girlfriend out the first couple of times it happened.
Submitted by Snark (user info) at 2004-11-22 11:40:31 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
I can't say enough about how much I love this post.
This is going to haunt me all day.
Submitted by TigerLilly (user info) at 2004-11-20 20:17:41 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
This. Is. So. Good.
Submitted by Falconer (user info) at 2004-11-20 19:14:16 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Brilliant.
Submitted by comicbookguy (user info) at 2004-11-20 19:10:17 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by CJRipley (user info) at 2004-11-20 18:57:36 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by DanielH (user info) at 2004-11-20 18:45:40 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
This was like opening any Erica Jong novel (my second favorite writer besides Henry Miller) to any given page. Good work.
Submitted by Kopesh (user info) at 2004-11-20 15:10:58 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
...................................................
Submitted by LadyPlural (user info) at 2004-11-20 13:46:43 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Oh man... I've definitely experienced the first part of this story (the annoyance, without the accepting amusement that follows). It probably didn't help that I was sharing the bed with my sister.
Stupid, snoring slut.
Her, not you. Really.
Submitted by NoahsArk (user info) at 2004-11-20 11:43:51 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by GlitchCowman (user info) at 2004-11-20 11:21:11 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by JMG114 (user info) at 2004-11-20 10:30:37 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
I know this.
Beautiful.
Submitted by FilthyAssistant (user info) at 2004-11-20 09:59:55 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Brings back a few memories. Frank used to be completely incapable of speaking English for the first 15 minutes after waking. I was completely incapable of remembering that he was not possessed, merely dutch. Confusion ensued.
Submitted by IamNotTheWorldTradeCenter (user info) at 2004-11-20 09:56:42 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by funkchomper (user info) at 2004-11-20 09:47:28 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Feeling that now :-(
Submitted by Hermann_the_German (user info) at 2004-11-20 09:35:21 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Nice!
I got a japanese-Stayle bed, about 1.4 metres across, but i only use the leftmost 60 cm - Wether my SO is present or not.
--
Uber is like a Goldmine:
Lots of worthless debris, but buried beneath lie shiny, precious nuggets.
Submitted by Shlongy (user info) at 2004-11-20 07:46:36 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
I was hoping for some screwing. Here's a plus one for ya.
http://www.ubersite.com/m/52192
Submitted by mrwolf (user info) at 2004-11-20 07:22:25 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Awww... I wan't to get back in bed with my sleepy smiling girlfriend that I left beneath the duvet this morning.
Submitted by dizzyupthegirl (user info) at 2004-11-20 07:20:59 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
ive definitely slept in beds that feel like that.. well done..
Submitted by lojope (user info) at 2004-11-20 07:09:22 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Loved it.
Submitted by I_Have_a_Kristen_Fetish (user info) at 2004-11-20 06:07:09 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
The Holy Grail of Uber: http://www.ubersite.com/m/52187
Submitted by Stin (user info) at 2004-11-20 05:49:35 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
It's good to have you back posting more often honey.
Submitted by TimeCop (user info) at 2004-11-20 04:31:01 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Loved it. I've had beds that felt like that before. You reminded me of some happy times, and that is quite a power.
Submitted by apollo88 (user info) at 2004-11-20 03:54:21 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
i prefer your amusing stories to be honest.
Submitted by Coyote (user info) at 2004-11-20 03:51:24 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Speaking as a teeth-grinding, cover-stealing male... beautiful.
Submitted by shitfuck (user info) at 2004-11-20 03:25:21 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Impassive-Digressive (user info) at 2004-11-20 03:24:06 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Spot on.
Submitted by NerfHerder (user info) at 2004-11-20 03:00:53 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Oh Circe. You're 2 AM posting makes me want to stay up late everyday.
Submitted by Anansie (user info) at 2004-11-20 02:34:58 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Awww...
Submitted by Creepy_guy (user info) at 2004-11-20 02:16:10 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by FunnyAsCancer (user info) at 2004-11-20 02:12:52 (#)
Ranking: 2
Brilliance
Submitted by FunnyAsCancer (user info) at 2004-11-20 02:12:52 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Brilliance.