The Book of Stanley by Todd Babiak

me?”
    â€œYes.”
    Alok took his first bite of spinach pie, and pointed at the pie with his fork, as though the pie had figured him out.
    â€œWhen I began to notice these changes, I looked on the Internet to see if maybe it was a common thing. But it isn’t.”
    â€œMaybe you tamed the dragon without even knowing it. Do you have any crystals at home, lying around in the eastern and northern extremities? Do you chant, as a rule?”
    â€œAlok, shut up for a minute.”
    â€œCertainly.” Alok gulped the final bit of his wine just as the woman with large spectacles set down their second half-litre. “Thank you, my love.”
    Stanley pushed his plate and glass away. “I have powers.”
    â€œAm I allowed to ask questions?”
    â€œYes. Sorry for telling you to shut up.”
    â€œIt was very rude. Very Alberta of you.”
    â€œShut up.”
    â€œWhat sorts of powers, Stanley?”
    He was embarrassed, all of a sudden. All this fuss. “It’s probably nothing.”
    â€œCome on.”
    â€œI seem to have acquired a touch of superhuman strength.”
    â€œKeep talking.”
    â€œAnd I can hear thoughts.”
    â€œReally?”
    â€œReally.”
    â€œAll right.” Alok closed his eyes and placed his index fingers on his temples. “What am I thinking right now?”
    Stanley saw what Alok was thinking in a series of flashes: sex with Frieda, as she was in the 1980s. Poofy hair, tight jeans. “You prick.”
    â€œSweet Susan. You got that?”
    â€œI did.”
    â€œWow. Wow. How do you do it?”
    â€œNo trick. I just hear and see, if I want to hear and see.”
    â€œWhy? How?”
    Stanley shrugged.
    â€œHence the plane ticket. I’ll consider this very seriously, Stan, using each area of my expertise. How is Frieda, by the way?”
    â€œTwenty years older than your fantasy.”
    â€œDo you think she’s still mad? At Kitty’s funeral she wouldn’t even look at me.”
    â€œShe’ll be all right.”
    â€œWhat does she think of your mind reading?”
    â€œShe doesn’t know about it. I mean, I don’t even know about it. Is this something that happens to cancer patients, by chance, just before they die?”
    Alok took another bite of spinach pie while he considered Stanley’s question. The server with the large spectacles was staring at Stanley from behind the counter, as she had been throughout their meal. Finally, she walked over, pulled up a chair, and sat down. “May I?”
    â€œIf you could give us another moment,” said Stanley.
    â€œI was wondering,” said the woman. She smiled, shook her head as though embarrassed, and removed her glasses. “I was wondering if I could see you sometime.”
    â€œOh. I’m married.”
    â€œNot that way. Necessarily. I just feel I’d like to talk to you. These things have happened in my life. It’s like this mould has grown over everything. In a couple months I’ll be forty-nine, and what have I accomplished so far?”
    â€œWell,” said Stanley.
    Alok pulled out his wallet and stood up. He dropped sixty dollars on the table and beckoned Stanley out the door witha head tilt. “So sorry,” he said to the server. “Mr. Moss is very tired. Perhaps we’ll return and you can talk then.”
    â€œBut…”
    â€œGood night.”
    Outside, in the warm night air, Alok rubbed his hands together. He led Stanley around to the rear of the New York Bagel Café.
    â€œAlok, did you eat enough? We left a lot of wine on the table. I could have spoken to that woman afterward.”
    â€œForget her. Let’s see something.”
    â€œLike what?”
    â€œSomething. Whatever you can show me. Your superhuman strength.”
    During the Fringe Theatre Festival, Old Strathcona was the most densely populated piece of land in Canada, but it was currently