It Chooses You - Miranda July [29]
Miranda:
It turns into a bed.
Dina:
Yeah. It’s five-in-one.
Miranda:
So a couch, a bed… that’s two.
Dina:
I forget.
Miranda:
Maybe it floats, so it’s a boat – that’s three.
Dina:
It does look like one, huh? And you know the good thing – it can hold up to six hundred pounds. Seriously, it can hold a lot of weight, so that’s good. I like different things, you know what I mean? I like that.
Finally I realized Dina herself was the most intricate, storied thing in the house. Her size might have been intimidating, but her decorations were a clear invitation.
Miranda:
Tell me about your amazing face – your piercings and stuff. When did you get into that?
Dina:
I just like decorating the body, even though we shouldn’t – okay, we know that. The thing is, I love decoration. I like art. So why not?
Miranda:
Can you do anything special with your tongue piercing?
Dina:
Yeah, you can. You’re gonna take me there?
Miranda:
I’m curious.
Dina:
I don’t know if I should say this.
Miranda:
You totally can.
Dina:
Actually, when I got older, I started getting curious, so I – I’m blushing now. I’m gonna say it. Oral sex, yes. This will put a really good spice to it. I called the shop way before I got this done, and they actually had vibrating ones.
Miranda:
No way.
Dina:
Yes way. So I was like, “Wait a minute! That sounds awesome for me, in my book!”
Miranda:
So has that been put to the test?
Dina:
It’s too soon.
Miranda:
Because it’s still healing?
Dina:
Yeah, still healing. I’m waiting for that.
Miranda:
And do you have a partner?
Dina:
Well, not really, but their dad, you know. He’s an iffy-sometimes person, but yeah. He would be a candidate.
Miranda:
And what is this tattoo?
Dina:
Oh, that’s the kids’ father. I didn’t do my homework and I didn’t know how much it would cost to laser off his name. So what did I do? I put “RIP” underneath it – “Rest in Peace.” He kept hearing I took it off, and then when I saw him again, I showed him. That surprised him. I said, “Well, at least I didn’t put ‘RIH’” – like “Rest in Hell,” you know what I’m saying?
Miranda:
Oh, right – that’s true. You said “Rest in Peace.”
Dina:
I was just trying to tell him, you know, break it down. Because when you’re done, you’re done. You may go back to the people, whatever, but you’re done. I wanna get one that says, “Respect the Queen,” on my back, by my skirt line. That’s next.
I asked Dina to give me a tour. It was a short one. We poked into the bedroom of Dina’s daughter Lynette; she was texting while watching TV, but after her mother cajoled her, she agreed to come out into the living room and sing a Miley Cyrus song for us. It was called “The Climb.” Lynette sang it with a wide mouth, waving arms, and hands that clutched the air.
I can almost see it,
That dream I’m dreaming, but
There’s a voice inside my head sayin’
You’ll never reach it.
Every step I’m taking,
Every move I make feels
Lost with no direction.
My faith is shaking but I
Got to keep trying,
Got to keep my head held high.
There’s always going to be another mountain.
I’m always going to want to make it move.
Always going to be an uphill battle,
Sometimes you’re going to have to lose.
Ain’t about how fast I get there,
Ain’t about what’s waiting on the other side,
It’s the climb.
Keep on moving.
Keep climbing.
Keep the faith, baby.
It’s all about
It’s all about
The climb.
Keep the faith.
Keep your faith.
I felt like Miley Cyrus was speaking directly to me through Lynette, and she was being very clear – she wanted me to keep the faith. I read Dina’s Popeye T-shirt, I YAM WHAT I YAM, and I felt that I too was what I was. I was a writer, and my characters, Sophie and Jason, were right here with me. In fact, they were me, both of them. Was it possible that Jason read the PennySaver? I knew for a fact that he did, because the movie was set in LA and everyone in LA, real or fictional, gets the PennySaver with their mail. It was so obvious, there all along, the invisible