All I knew was a flight number and a time of arrival. In the airport, I bought a magazine and settled into a chair near the exit of the security zone. I had no idea who I was looking for, but I knew him the instant I saw him.
Because it was Tuesday
February 12, 2008“All of the sudden, the house started shaking, and I thought, oh my gosh, is there an earthquake in Iowa? And it was the ice sliding off my roof and I was there by myself because it was Tuesday.”
Nightstand
February 10, 2008He left his cellphone on her nightstand, which both tempted and infuriated her. When he went to the bathroom, she scrolled through his sent text messages, searching for one that made it sound like he thought last night was worthy, that he would be back for more.
Desperate times, desperate measure
February 8, 2008It started to snow again barely 24 hours after we got 11 inches. The very act of donning snow boots, gloves, hat left me exhausted, and in the parking lot, I stumbled through rutted snow, teetering toward an oncoming vehicle.
“Don’t get hit, now,” said the parking lot attendant.
“I’ll try not to,” I said. “But if this winter keeps up, I might just throw myself in front of a car.”
Lenten
February 6, 2008For many years, it became about deprivation: No candy, no dessert, no French fries. But it is time to deprive myself of certain agitation, of the inability to settle down—as if my skin is lit with low fire. If I can find peace for even five minutes each day, I cannot help but expect a renewal, a return to something that I may have always missed.
Holler
February 4, 2008On the other side of the wall, a baby hollered. It bespoke great anger over deep injustice, a bitter, bitter holler that resists all comfort.
We never forget how to summon that kind of holler—but as adults, it echoes only from the inside of our heads. Perhaps things would be different if we learned to open tight lips.
Unrepeatable
February 2, 2008“I put a penny in my shredder and now my underwear hurts.” The teenager shook her head, her mouth a sunset at the horizon of her chin.
Her father, who had been thinking about baseball, decided not to ask her to repeat herself.
100 Proof 