i carry your heart

Week #7

2010-01-31T07:07:00.000-08:00

outside, in the alley between her building and the laundromat, a boy lay with his arms around a dog the color of dry sand.

_____

nobody knew of the boy in the alley. not the artist in the dark. not the 3 friends at the drycleaners. the dog in his arms moved closer.

_____

he squeezed the dog and sang "we represent the lollipop kids..." and the dog whimpered as a cold breeze took his song and their heat away.

_____

a man named henry sloan paused at the mouth of the alley. if that boy and dog are dead, he thought, i'll go lie down and die right with them.

_____

the dog could have slipped the boy's arms, but stayed. it growled at henry over the boy's snotty cheek. "i just want to help," henry said.

_____

henry carried the boy to his apartment. the dog limped after them. people stared, snickered from cars, but no one made eye contact with him.

_____

with 2 bottles empty, she lacked the strength to reach for the 3rd. her eyes flitted, stopped, closed. she heard a dark and distant howl.

Week #6

2010-01-23T08:15:00.000-08:00

theo said "emily, if you tell me spig's a ghost, i will fucking SCREECH." "i'm not" spig said "but right now i wish i was. screech anyway."

_____

theo got up and pointed at them, unable to speak. em said, "theo." he turned to run away. "i think we're freaking him out," spig said.

_____

spig helped emily to her feet. they ran after theo, who was jogging toward the park. "what have we done?" emily asked. spig said, "we?"

_____

they found theo hiding in the entry to a dry-cleaner's. backed into the corner. he stared at them, motionless, as if he were invisible.

_____

"sorry," em said. "it's all right" theo told her. "i just need to eat." spig said, "we ate a 1/2 hour ago!" theo's stare made him back away.

_____

the artist sat in her unlit kitchen. before her, 3 bottles of pills: 2 made-up like men, 1 like a woman. hearts drawn in black magic marker.

_____

one bottle emptied, she leaned across the table and wrote: "i fall for those who make me feel the way i wish they'd feel about me."

Week #5

2009-12-18T09:24:00.000-08:00

across the street, in a 3rd floor apartment, a woman sketched them on a paper plate. opened the window. let it sail. backed into the dark.

_____

the plate fell to the street. theo went and picked it up. turned around. smiled. a car horn sounded. tires screeched. em covered her eyes...

_____

theo pelvic-thrusted to safety. the car brushed his jacket and sped on. he stood there like a less-than sign, wheeling his arms for balance.

_____

em uncovered her eyes. "please, get out of the road," she said. theo sat again, handing her the plate. she smiled and looked up at the sky.

_____

the sketch, in pencil, captured their embrace on the sidewalk, em crying, spig with his fingers laced through those of emily's good hand.

_____

they looked up at the windows across the street, trying to locate the artist, who basked in the dark and thought: i have three good friends.

_____

em sighed, teetering. "this is quite possibly the best and worst afternoon of my life" she told spig. "better even than when you died."

Week #4

2009-12-07T07:40:00.000-08:00

walking to lunch, spig said, "i don't, you know." "i never said you did," theo said. "don't what?" spig laughed and said, "dye my hair."

_____

they sat in a corner booth. sunlight pearled on the twist of hair above spig's ear. theo pictured it falling, splashing on the table-top...

_____

"halves on a cheeseburger grinder?" theo asked. "too much work," said spig. "why don't we just get a pie and take some back to emily?"

_____

spig had 6 pieces; theo, 2. "i forgot to eat breakfast," spig said. "and breakfast, lunch and dinner yesterday. i'm terrible about that."

_____

"i'll be right back" spig said. he went down the hall toward the restroom. 5 minutes passed. 10. theo sucked his lips in as he paid the bill.

_____

spig met him on the corner. "i can't believe you did that" theo said." "em has my wallet. really. i forgot to grab it. really. seriously."

_____

em sat on the curb. eyes red, make-up smeared. bandage on her hand. she waved. winced. started to cry. they sat alongside and hugged her.

Week #3

2009-11-29T11:11:00.000-08:00

"thanks" said the date. "for what?" spig asked. "ruining my day. showing up uninvited." "you were late." "yeah. well. you dye your hair."

_____

em heard a slap and turned around. her date's left cheek was glowing. spig, hands up defensively, giggled and said "i'm not laughing."

_____

"it's okay" said the date. "no, it's not" em said. "really, it is" spig told her. "we cool?" offering a hand. shake. hold. shiver...

_____

"what just happened?" emily asked. the cabbie said "we're here." she spun back, reached for the dash with broken fingers and said AAHHHHH!!!

_____

"the young lady's in shock," said the nurse. "can i get a name and # from one of you?" spig looked at the date, who shrugged and said "theo"

_____

"not hers" the nurse said. "yours." "that is my name." "theodore?" spig asked. "theotis." "oh. i like that." the nurse said "do you mind?"

_____

they sat on hard plastic chairs, watching a talkshow. spig said "theo?" "yeah?" "feel like getting lunch?" "why not" theo said. "you owe me"

Week #2

2009-11-22T10:20:00.000-08:00

he spaced out at the corner. she watched him space and they missed the light. "albert spignoli," she said. "alberta spignola," he replied.

_____

"i could still use a coffee," emily said. "me, too," spig said. "a pot. of." he pointed at her stood-up date, who rode by in a taxi.

_____

the taxi screeched to a halt. "i'm too tired to run" spig said. "you're also too tired to fight" em said, tugging his sleeve. "ow" he said.

_____

spig tumbled off the curb. em shrieked, falling on him. he could feel at least 2 of her fingers, still clutched in his, bent the wrong way.

_____

"your turn to say ow," spig told her. "that's not funny," she said, laughing through her tears and loving him for it. "please don't let go."

_____

emily's date loomed over them. "i, uh...what's your name, again?" spig asked. the man looked at em, raised his eyebrows. she said, "help?"

_____

spig and the stiffed-date rode in back. he could hear em grit her teeth up front. the cabbie said "who's the good guy?" emily said "you."

Week #1

2009-11-14T08:06:00.000-08:00

spig waited with emily for her date to arrive. when he did, spig said "that's not him, is it?" knowing that it was. "it isn't. is it, em?"

_____

"i don't know," spig said. "he's got a minor mis-balance or something." em scrunched up her nose and said, "no, he doesn't. ha! shut up."

_____

"let's go" spig said. "we can't just leave" em said. "what about the coffee?" her date tapped the glass and smiled. "is there a back door?"

_____

he dragged off her chair and through the kitchen. the cook, nibbling on a block of cheese, said, "sorry." "it's not your fault," spig said.

_____

the screen door shut behind them. "what now?" em asked. a half-eaten block of cheese hit the rusty wire mesh and they both screamed.

_____

they ran till spig was out of breath--about 40 steps. he smiled at her, said "you love me." em squeezed his hand, thinking, if you only knew.

_____

spig's hair was black and mostly straight, except for a lone shiny curl, over his right ear, that she wanted to suck as if it were her own.