lips. “I still feel weird, though, doing it in your house. Why couldn’t we stay at my place?”
“Because it’s too cold and I didn’t feel like going out. You wouldn’t want your little sweetie to get sick, would you?” Mrs. McMadigan wrapped her arms around Willie and returned his kiss.
Sara had met Willie when she was a secretary for Dynatox Industries. He had been a fisherman for most of his life but when his wife went missing (she was believed to be abducted by either squid or octopi), he gave it up to work with computers. As soon as they met, there was an obvious mental-sexual connection and the affair began when he bought her a lunch of tuna salad and oysters. They’ve been screwing ever since.
Sara and Willie walked together into the living room and sat on the couch. Sara had set down two glasses of scotch. Willie grabbed one glass, handed it to her, and went to pick his up. When he did so, he glanced up out the window and saw something in the window of the neighbor’s house. He dropped his glass and the scotch spurted out of it all at once, silently splattering the carpet.
“Shit! Sorry!” Willie looked around for a napkin.
Sara giggled. “Don’t you worry about it. I don’t mind stains on the carpet. They remind me of blood, makes me remember when I was a teenager.”
Willie made a face. “What do you mean? Why?”
“You know I used to work on a boat, helping bring the squid in. Almost every day someone would cut themselves open because they weren’t paying attention, just slicing open the suckers and their own hand in the process. The floor of the boat had splotch after splotch of blood and squid guts or whatever it is that squids have inside of ‘ em . I remember this one sleazy guy who used to always try to get me to bend over in front of him. Ray! That’s what his name was. Anyway, one time he cut his hand open and there was this HUGE blood stain on the floor of the boat.” Sara took out a cigarette from the pack on the table and lit it. She took three drags before she began talking again.
“Well, he went right ahead and took out this turtle shell and started draining his blood in there. Then he went around asking us if we wanted our fortunes told. I couldn’t help noticing, too, that all the while he’s doing this, he has the biggest erection I’d ever seen.”
“He was naked?” Willie laughed.
“No, no, he was wearing pants but you couldn’t miss it, I’m telling you. After that, I just didn’t mind stains all that much. If I spill some juice or some wine on the carpet, I just stare at it and try to see my future or someone else’s.”
Willie pointed to the stain. “Well, what do you see here?” He kissed her neck. Sara tilted her head and looked at the carpet.
“That’s fucking weird.”
“What?”
“I just thought of my old neighbor from when I was growing up in Brooklyn . I haven’t thought of her in years. Barbara something. God, she was like a big sister to me.” She got down on her knees and put her face closer to the stain which was now fading, sinking deeper into the carpet fibers. “Yeah, I can almost see her face, her nose especially, she had a big nose.”
Willie looked down at Sara and then out the window again. The person he saw in the house next door was still there, standing on some sort of stool, waving a flag. While his married lover inspected her stain, Willie got up closer to the window. At that distance he could see that it was a longhead dressed in a Viking costume. Willie couldn’t see what sort of flag was being waved but he could see that it was being moved with fervor and passion as if the man on the stool was actually marching in a parade and not standing in his room alone.
“Honey, come look at this,” he said. Sara was still on her knees.
Wait, I see something else, I think. There’re some dog hairs in the carpet and they’re adding shapes to Barbara’s face. Come here, Willie, I want to know if you can see it, too.”
“Because it’s too cold and I didn’t feel like going out. You wouldn’t want your little sweetie to get sick, would you?” Mrs. McMadigan wrapped her arms around Willie and returned his kiss.
Sara had met Willie when she was a secretary for Dynatox Industries. He had been a fisherman for most of his life but when his wife went missing (she was believed to be abducted by either squid or octopi), he gave it up to work with computers. As soon as they met, there was an obvious mental-sexual connection and the affair began when he bought her a lunch of tuna salad and oysters. They’ve been screwing ever since.
Sara and Willie walked together into the living room and sat on the couch. Sara had set down two glasses of scotch. Willie grabbed one glass, handed it to her, and went to pick his up. When he did so, he glanced up out the window and saw something in the window of the neighbor’s house. He dropped his glass and the scotch spurted out of it all at once, silently splattering the carpet.
“Shit! Sorry!” Willie looked around for a napkin.
Sara giggled. “Don’t you worry about it. I don’t mind stains on the carpet. They remind me of blood, makes me remember when I was a teenager.”
Willie made a face. “What do you mean? Why?”
“You know I used to work on a boat, helping bring the squid in. Almost every day someone would cut themselves open because they weren’t paying attention, just slicing open the suckers and their own hand in the process. The floor of the boat had splotch after splotch of blood and squid guts or whatever it is that squids have inside of ‘ em . I remember this one sleazy guy who used to always try to get me to bend over in front of him. Ray! That’s what his name was. Anyway, one time he cut his hand open and there was this HUGE blood stain on the floor of the boat.” Sara took out a cigarette from the pack on the table and lit it. She took three drags before she began talking again.
“Well, he went right ahead and took out this turtle shell and started draining his blood in there. Then he went around asking us if we wanted our fortunes told. I couldn’t help noticing, too, that all the while he’s doing this, he has the biggest erection I’d ever seen.”
“He was naked?” Willie laughed.
“No, no, he was wearing pants but you couldn’t miss it, I’m telling you. After that, I just didn’t mind stains all that much. If I spill some juice or some wine on the carpet, I just stare at it and try to see my future or someone else’s.”
Willie pointed to the stain. “Well, what do you see here?” He kissed her neck. Sara tilted her head and looked at the carpet.
“That’s fucking weird.”
“What?”
“I just thought of my old neighbor from when I was growing up in Brooklyn . I haven’t thought of her in years. Barbara something. God, she was like a big sister to me.” She got down on her knees and put her face closer to the stain which was now fading, sinking deeper into the carpet fibers. “Yeah, I can almost see her face, her nose especially, she had a big nose.”
Willie looked down at Sara and then out the window again. The person he saw in the house next door was still there, standing on some sort of stool, waving a flag. While his married lover inspected her stain, Willie got up closer to the window. At that distance he could see that it was a longhead dressed in a Viking costume. Willie couldn’t see what sort of flag was being waved but he could see that it was being moved with fervor and passion as if the man on the stool was actually marching in a parade and not standing in his room alone.
“Honey, come look at this,” he said. Sara was still on her knees.
Wait, I see something else, I think. There’re some dog hairs in the carpet and they’re adding shapes to Barbara’s face. Come here, Willie, I want to know if you can see it, too.”
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