Noir
"You and me- let's run away to New York. Please?" he says. He sounds like a huckster or a hopeful child- voice pleading, softer even than his normal mumble and somehow too full of desire to be real. "A friend can get me a job at a paper. It's not a big paper and I'd be making less money but..." This matters to him. Not the running away with me (whatever hopes I may deny having) but getting back to New York. He wants to be a reporter, a real journalist, in New York with his typewriter and whisky and cigarettes.
He already has all three, a Smith and Corona sitting in a smudge of ash near the empty bottle like My Girl Friday gone sour at the end. Nobody owns typewriters anymore except kids who know that they may someday have to write a screenplay or a reply to a blackmailer and between us we cover both of these types. I have two, neither functioning, and he uses his to write what I'd call love letters coming from anyone else. But I don't like to have love and him in the same mental zip code, especially if it is just going to be a few city blocks, an easy 10 minute train ride out to the next. That seems like a lack of prudence, foresight, common sense even to me.
Which one of us is the worse romantic?
I think it may be me. It was days ago he said this but I still wonder if he might almost be serious. I'd run away with him, but what girl can compete with a city and a dream?
He already has all three, a Smith and Corona sitting in a smudge of ash near the empty bottle like My Girl Friday gone sour at the end. Nobody owns typewriters anymore except kids who know that they may someday have to write a screenplay or a reply to a blackmailer and between us we cover both of these types. I have two, neither functioning, and he uses his to write what I'd call love letters coming from anyone else. But I don't like to have love and him in the same mental zip code, especially if it is just going to be a few city blocks, an easy 10 minute train ride out to the next. That seems like a lack of prudence, foresight, common sense even to me.
Which one of us is the worse romantic?
I think it may be me. It was days ago he said this but I still wonder if he might almost be serious. I'd run away with him, but what girl can compete with a city and a dream?
posted by J at 10:07 AM
4 Comments:
I hope you told him that you can't run away to New York with him until you've run away to Venice with me. Take a number, holmes!
What makes you assume that this isn't fictional?
Besides the fact that I can't write fiction. God, I couldn't even make up stories for my parents when I missed curfew.
Also, I need to run away to Monreal w/ ADiz and St. Johns with both of you first.
The second paragraph is what, plus I assume that anyone who doesn't ask you to elope with them within, oh, six weeks of meeting you isn't worth anyone's time. (I am pretty sure that rules me out....)
Can I run away to Montreal with you guys too? There's this street with lilacs on both sides and a cafe full of grouchy old Italian men where I want to take you both for espresso and watching people play chess.
You DIDN'T immediately want to elope with me? Huh. Insulting, that.
So, ADIZ may want in on the Venice, but I'm sure she'll let you come to Montreal. Even though you two are late to the elopement party.
And I only have one typewriter up here. And I am not all emotion-y. So there. Not even in a cynical way. Cool, man, cool.
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