The Egg Said Nothing - Caris O'Malley [11]
The woman hefted her clothes—already color-sorted—into the machine. She poured her detergent in, closed the lid and sat down. She reached into her bag and pulled out a magazine. I couldn’t see the cover.
“I hate the whole chips,” Ashley said. I turned back to her.
“You like the crumbs?” I stood and walked over to the second machine and deposited some coins, retrieving my Coke after it fell. I plopped down next to Ashley and cracked open the soda. The cold carbonization of the first sip felt good in my mouth.
I leaned back and looked over at the middle-aged woman again. She was beginning to stand up. Her dark hair was limp and her face looked tired. She stepped up to the drink machine, put a few coins in and pressed a button. Nothing happened. She pressed it again. Still nothing.
“Damn,” she said, and put her hands in her pockets, searching. I reached back into my pocket and pulled out a quarter.
“Here,” I said. I held out the quarter. She smiled and took it. Ashley looked up.
“Thanks,” the woman said. “You guys look nice together,” she said once she sat back down. “I can see that you really love one another.”
Ashley smiled at her. She reached over and took my hand in hers. She raised it confidently and kissed it. My heart pounded in my chest as her moist lips pressed against my skin.
“I sure hope so,” Ashley said.
~Chapter 6~
In which the narrator gets lucky.
“What are we doing?” Ashley asked, tossing her hair off her shoulder. The moistness of her hand felt good against my skin. My hand squeezed hers, doing its best to prevent her from pulling away. We walked down the empty sidewalk, junk food on our breath, stars above our heads. Going back the way we had come, there was no sense of finality. Wherever it was that we were going, we were still going, coasting along on energy already spent. Drifting came easily. I already felt as if I was in a dream.
“Let’s go do nothing,” I suggested. “My place is only a few blocks away and I have a couch there. It isn’t very comfortable. There isn’t any food. But I have a TV and basic cable. It’s included in the rent.”
“That’s what you want to do with me? Watch TV?” she asked, mock offense playing across her delicate features.
“It’s not just watching TV,” I explained. “This, my friend, is the middle of the night. The shows we can find are not the same as those offered in the daylight.
“We don’t have to waste time with the steroid-budgeted feature films shortened for time and content. We get to see Teen Wolf and The Breakfast Club and Weekend at Bernie’s Two in their entirety, with swear words expertly replaced with overdubbing.
“We get to watch the entertainment equivalent of a transitional object, and can fall asleep with our teddy bears clasped tightly in our arms and Molly Ringwald’s words dying on our lips.
“And all of this while the rest of the world sleeps. They dream their little dreams, toss and turn in sweaty sheets, and we’ll be awake. Do you realize the effect that will have on us? Instead of air, we’ll be breathing dreams.”
Ashley shook her head. “You and your dream theft. First it’s wishes, then it’s dreams. Don’t you find it strange you steal those things that are most personal to others?”
“I don’t steal,” I pointed out. “I never steal.” We walked along in silence for a brief time until we came upon my building, looming like a giant with scoliosis.
“Here we are.”
“Here?” she asked.
“Yup.” I pulled the front door and held it open. “My little slice of paradise.”
“Thank you, sir,” she said. I followed her into the building, breathing in her scent. I felt lightheaded. “Going up?” she asked, pointing to the elevator.
“Yes, ma’am,” I said. We rode the elevator up.
Once it stopped, we walked the short distance down the hallway. I dug in my pocket for my keys. Then I paused.
“Wait a second,” I said. “That’s 312.”
“Is that not where you live?” Ashley asked.
“No, it isn’t. I live in 412.”
She seemed confused. “Do you