Talk of indolence, a conversation story

B: "It's funny," I say to Marie on the balcony, "you're problem is very much like my problem. Wait. No. Scratch that. You nor I have the problems in these situations... THEY have the problems. They're like fungal growth. It gets worse with age, and serves no purpose but to irritate with insidiousness. It's appalling."

M: "Yeah. You're right."

B: "And they don't even know it."

M: "And they choose to ignore it!"

B: "I believe in communication. I've tried it."

M: "Ya, me too. But sometimes I don't even want to talk."

B: "Oh I NEVER want to talk. Sometimes I open up and play nice... but I have to be in an exceptional mood. I'm often in a good mood, but when I avoid conversation it's not that I'm not in a good mood, it's that I don't want to get in a bad mood. It's a preventative measure."

M: "Talk contraception."

B: "Purple prophylactics."

M: "Candy-flavored condoms!"

B: "Bitchin'."

M: "Indeed...(Beat)
...Her laziness annoys me. Like pick up your crap. It's eating the living room. This isn't your personal hole."

B: " 'And like stop showing your fucking mid-drift', is what I should have said to her. Do you know how tacky that is? ...And it's like tooting your own horn... You know how much she toots her own horn? It's like toot, toot, TOOT every second I see her. Just leave me alone. I'm thinking about things. Important things."

M: "Well Megan's the same way. Except she's just in love with her mother. Every two seconds she needs to see what Mommy thinks... It's embarrassing. Em-bare-assing. Like, I'd like to fuck my boyfriend in peace thank you."

B: "Inconvenient."

M: "When I want it... YES!"

B: "....I bet her Mom tucks her in at night too. Lucky cake."

M: "OMG she's SUCH a cake."

B: "I can't stand cakes."

M: "Oh they're cakes. They're having lunch right and the worst part - they brought provolone cheese and mortadella and olives.... Listen. Don't try to be Italian. You will never be Italian, you rude fuckin' Wonder bread eating manga cakes."

B: "Man alive, that's hilarious. Sounds like dialogue."

M: "Why thank you! I fancy myself a writer don'chya know."

B: "Hey, maybe the mid-drift things a cake thing?"

M: "Or an, 'i'm a 14 year old hick, and shop at Claires' thing. It's tragic."

B: "Obliviously tragic."

M: "The worst kind of tragic... A sin."

B: "Yeah."

M: "Yeah." (Beat).
"Wanna cigarette?"


I wave it off; she knows i don't smoke. But she does when she drinks, so she lights that bitch and sucks it back. She is the epitome of cool and I love her. I make sure to take the moment and admire her, then I carry on with one last thought...

B: "Well, who am I to forgive? But I'll do it anyway - to my cake, to yours. They can't help it, they were born that way... Like we, were born like this."

M: "Holier than thou?"

B: "Your words sister, not mine..."


She holds up her cigarette as if to cheers. I hold up my highball. We clink and ash sprinkles down like paper snow.

She turns to me and says, "So we fucked without a rubber last night."

B: "Oh ya? ... What's that like?"


***

xoLola