Hypnotized by Don Trembath

Author:Don Trembath
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: JUV000000
ISBN: 9781554696406
Publisher: Orca Book Publishers
Published: 2007-03-01T05:00:00+00:00

chapter eleven

“Did she say anything about liking me? Anything at all? Hurry, before she comes out,” Phil asks. He is standing in front of me in the line at C-Town. Alexa has gone to the bathroom.

“Well, she did say you were punctual,” I say.

Phil does not take this like a man.

“And that she never saw you wipe your nose without a Kleenex.”

He’s crestfallen. “She didn’t say anything else about me?” he asks.

“Nothing,” I say to him, hoping he can hear the satisfaction in my voice.

“Really?” He’s crushed. He really is.

“Really.”

“Did you ask her?” he persists. “Like directly?”

“After she explained to me that you were dead, yes, I asked her what she thought of you.”

“And what did she say?” he asks again.

“I just told you,” I say.

“That’s it? That’s all? Nothing about the good times we had?”

I frown. “What good times?”

“The pancakes. Spending Christmas holidays together. All that stuff.”

“Phil,” I say, “you just ate the pancakes. We haven’t spent Christmas together yet. And there is no other stuff. You are not lifelong friends with Alexa. Face it. You’re not even day-long friends with Alexa. You’re an afternoon-long friend, and even that’s about to end.”

He’s demoralized. Again I feel an urge to cushion his disappointment. I am grateful when the urge passes. But I do explain my position. “Maybe if you hadn’t made me out to be such a putz, I would have sold you to her a bit better. Talked you up a bit more. You know what I’m saying?”

It doesn’t matter if he does. As soon as Alexa comes out of the bathroom, he has to make like a stranger in front of me in line, so this conversation can’t last forever.

His sadness turns into confusion.

I pay no attention. “I mean, really. A sushi chef at The Elegant Dragon? That’s what you see me doing ten years from now? What, all the paper routes in town already taken? No shopping carts at the grocery store to collect?”

He gives me a funny look. “What are you talking about?”

I look to the bathrooms before answering. Alexa’s coming out. “Turn around,” I hiss at him.

Phil whirls around so Alexa doesn’t see him.

I’m not sure what he’s thinking, but if it’s something like, The next time we do this, I’ll make Rufus a bit more successful, then it’s all been worthwhile.

“You don’t have to work today, do you?” Alexa’s joins me just as Phil steps forward to place his order. The back of his shoulders stiffen as he hears her voice. It must be agony to find out that the one you loved barely knew you were alive. Or maybe he’s bummed out because he realizes that his plan wasn’t so golden after all.

“No, it’s my day off,” I say to her. “Too much time in the kitchen and I lose my touch.”

“Must be nice. When I’m in a play, it’s day after day after day of rehearsals, costumes, makeup, performances. Sometimes I sit backstage thinking about how nice it would be to actually have time to see a play on Broadway,” she says.

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