Читать книгу Cubicle Envy - Geoff Jarok - Страница 6

-Let’s not poke the 10,000-pound gorilla-

Saturday, April 11, 2009

It was a rainy spring Saturday. Chris could hear it gushing down the gutters at about 7:00AM. Their bedroom was enveloped in the perfect cool air that makes you crave digging deeper under the covers. He fell back asleep and dreamed about the cops drinking beers at Hampton beach and forcing him to pour out his bottle of water. He couldn’t pour it in the ocean, but he didn’t know why. Donna woke up like a bolt at 9:00.

“Chris, get up so I can make the bed”

“How can you make the bed if I’m in the bed?”

“Good question – get out!”

“I sit in my cube all day and dream of sleeping in, and of course lying next to you my darling.”

“I bet.”

“And then I dream of my Donna making me French toast…MMM. That’s good”

“You have this pretty well planned out. I’ll just let Mrs. Garrett know that her services will no longer be needed.”

“But who’s going to do the housework while we’re making out in this warm bed on a Saturday morning?”

“Well, it’s your dream. It’ll probably just magically get done.”

Donna’s tone lashed Chris to a sitting position. He felt his belly and knew the softness was a symptom of his own laziness.

Chris spent the day doing errands with the last stop being the liquor store. He and Donna were doing Easter dinner at Donna’s parents’ house. She had spent the late afternoon prepping some German potato salad while Chris ambled around town in the rain. He walked into Stadium Liquors trying to think of the name of the takaji digestif that Mrs. Catcher liked so much last Thanksgiving. Her family was Hungarian and Chris was a bit nervous about the choice. Of course Lisa and her mystery train had made a stop in Hungary at one point. Who knew she could be a resource on Hungarian dessert wine, but she was dead on. Chris scored big points. Why not go to the well again?

As he was pacing the shelf with his eyes, he saw he was getting close to somebody’s personal space. Chris glanced over slightly with a quick recoil – it was Jack Dawes, Big Man on Campus. He wasn’t even sure Big Man on Campus was still even a real term or if he had just been living in an alternate universe somewhere between “Charles in Charge” and the “Brady Bunch”. By the late 1990s the Big Man was the first one shot down by the anti-Big Man so perhaps it lost a little cachet. This Big Man looked like he had lost a little cachet and gained a little belly.

“Hey, uh, Chris. How’s it going man?”

“Um Jack, good. Good.”

Chris was a bit of a geek in high school. He got along with everyone, but not enough to be feeling up any cheerleaders like Mr. Dawes.

“So, uh, wha-um, what’s going on?”

“Just picking up some wine for my fiancée.”

“You’re getting married? That’s great!” Jack had the kind of dark eyes that even smiling they’re like a leashed dog you struggle to walk around.

“Yeah, haven’t really set a date, but…What’s up with you?”

“Aw, nothing much. I was picking up some booze for tonight. You know my roommate…you remember, ugh, Scott Brinks? Yeah, we’re living down near Dutton Street.”

Chris couldn’t remember any actual housing over there.

“We’re having a little get together. Some of the guys I used to work with at Amex. If you want to stop by…”

“I’m stacked up tonight. Do you know Flo Li? I think she used to work there.”

“Where? Oh Amex. I don’t know uh, any Foley. I’ve been out for eight months. You know, unemployed.”

“Yeah, there’s so many people out of work. I’m really lucky,” Chris said modestly.

“I hear ya. Well, um, it was good to see you. Say hello to Donna for me.”

“OK.” Chris was extremely curious how Jack knew who his girlfriend was, but it was kind of a downer to see how Mr. Popularity was struggling, so he sped out of the conversation.

As Chris walked out of the store he got a good view of the sun set marching over the soaked trees, dragging pinks and oranges around the clouds.