Skip to main content

One Nickel, One Halls, One Hat

The First Night

I just stood there.
And I thought fuck to myself. My roommate, who was responsible for breaking the handle on the toilet, had just left for a few days vacation.
The toilet had stopped running the other two times it had over-flowed pass the brim after three seconds this week. Oh. But not this time. Nope. This time the water just kept spilling on out.
And the taxi was going to be in my driveway in 8 minutes to pick me up and take me to the airport.
The water was almost to the bathroom door before I did anything.
Which was to try to dry the floor first with a big towel. And a little towel.
So, when I had to hike up my jeans to avoid getting them wet, I thought maybe I should stop the water.
I did go for my plunger first.
But it is not what stopped the water. But I did stop the water.
I also used almost every clean sheet in the hallway closet on the bathroom floor because the taxi cab driver was then in my driveway.
That is when The Voice laughed at me.
Eat shit, I muttered when I walked out the door.

The Four Days After My Company Fixed My Toilet

I live in Canada. My Company does not. My Company lives almost daily in warmth. And has mostly done so for 26 years.
The furnace suddenly seemed awfully loud to me. It almost sounded like it was going to take off and come through the bathroom floor. Which would have really ruined my toilet. And the house would have gotten really cold.
I worried about this and I stayed worried listening to the furnace until the next day when it suddenly seemed to sound back to normal.
When My Company was in the shower, I told The Voice to fuck off.

My company was real kind. Until he lost his cigarettes.
We looked for them. Even under my couch.
We thought of a few ways they might have gotten lost.
I said they'd turn up.
But I lied.
I knew The Voice was up to no good.

Some Gnats decided to have sex in my sink. There were no dishes in the sink when they decided this.
It made me wonder what was stuck in my drain.
But I think My Company thought it was fun to sneak up on them in the dark and suddenly drown them with tap water.
I am sure even The Voice appreciated My Company's genius.

Warm coffee is nice on cold days.
So, the microwave just stopped working when My Company wanted to reheat cold coffee.
Seems the Landlord will have to come out to put in a new plug.
Which I can do it by myself if I want to.
Even The Voice knows that.

We found a copy of my second favorite film of all time at The Flea Market.
When we decided to watch the movie, an Annoying Fly kept landing on My Company. I watched My Company swat at the Annoying Fly. A lot.
That Annoying Fly would get away every time, too.
That was pretty Annoying for My Company.

I walked in my door this afternoon. The house was quiet. I had some time to kill before my kids and the roommate would be home. So, I sat on my couch and thought about things.
Then I decided I would like to hear some Matchbox 20. I walked over to my PC and stopped to look at the picture now sitting on the top shelf of my desk.
Frank does a pretty good Annoying Fly, said The Voice, suddenly.
Dammit, I thought. I should have known.
And since I should have known, I ignored The Voice and turned up Matchbox 20 real loud.

Comments

Karri Bowman said…
everyone should have a hostess like you. :)
cbeck said…
It does sound as if your Company must have had the most wonderful time. I'm sure they miss it all dearly.

And for some reason, I find myself thinking of that song, "One whiskey, One scotch... and one Beer..."
Anonymous said…
For the record, I would like the nickel and the hat back. You may keep the halls.

Popular posts from this blog

The Village Itself

Across the road from my home is an apartment building. It is made of brown brick and has three stories. It also has plenty of windows I often forget about while I go about my daily and nightly routines. I also forget my curtains are white, lacey and see-through scraps purchased from an aisle in Wal-Mart. Fifteen apartments. That may all house people with binoculars. It was the muggiest night this past summer had owned. Brenda was down for a visit and when she comes, it usually means a night spent over on my couch for her. Brenda lives in another town. It was one in the morning, no sleep to be found between the two us. We sat slouched on my front porch trying to capture the occasional breeze offered, sucking it deep into our lungs, praying it would cool us down. Our glasses of Pepsi sweated warning us how warm the drink would taste in our mouths. "Tilly! Tilly!" the shout sat our spines straight as we looked across the street to the where the sound was coming fr...

Unending Paper Chase

You check in on me when you get your break for lunchtime now. You never used to. You ask me, "Are you all right?" You breath in and out hard once through your nose, like it is a chore to even ask. It seems to me that for you everything is an obligation, even holding my hand. Everything you do doesn't feel like anything more than surveillance now. I don't want the days to end and it is getting harder to sleep at night. I am starting to feel sick, like I have the flu. I'm always cold. But I haven't eaten much lately. My stomach is filled with acid. I smile at you anyway. I write two letters a day. One to keep you smiling and one that tells of the truth, but they both look the same. You do not know that I form certain words and sentences in a way that triggers me, in a way that reminds me of what is real. It is something that I started doing in grade school for tests, so that I could easily remember the answers, and then later, so my mother would not underst...

Rosy Cheeks

My son's circle and lined wall, created with the permanent red marker, became something he liked to show-off. I guess the other kids who come here liked it, too.   I guess he wanted to show-off more. That is one of the many hypothesis I have about how the Map of Africa came to be. I just keep hoping my kid is some kind of odd little genius.  On the morning I discovered the map of Africa, I was not speechless and I could breathe. "What is this?" I demanded. And loudly. My son shrugged his shoulders. "I like it. It's nice. Took a long time." He had chipped paint off the wall. His walls are white. That morning, it was discovered his room used to be beige.   And it was starting to look like a room in an abandoned house. I thought to myself that maybe this look would be the in thing  20 years from now and he could make millions. He could be a visionary. It was a good enough excuse for me to leave the room. I used it...