Tuesday, March 8, 2011

I OFTEN HAVE APOCALYPTIC DREAMS IN WHICH I HAVE TO LEAD A MASS EXODUS

apocalypse

JARED LINDSAY CLARK

jared lindsay clark

VIGNETTE 8

After a short series of text message dares, they agreed to meet at Sunset Diner in the morning. Sunset diner is the kind of place Quentin Tarantino would prefer, making it nonthreatening for a Williamsburg first date. At 1pm it was totally packed. She walked in and all the hipster eyes did a once over, then went back to their hangover breakfast plates.
3 minutes later he walked in from the rain, wool hat soaked through. He had coffee and eggs benedict, she had chamomile tea, scrambled eggs and bacon. He was charming, they spoke about recording, music, and the easy things. He kept looking straight in her eyes.
"Want to walk?"
"Okay"
East River State Park- its somewhere to see the city and pretend the water isn't debris lined and the cobblestone is charming, instead of dangerously haphazard. They walked and looked and pretended it was nice, she turned away from his eyes because she knew things were going well.
The rain started coming down again, and they headed toward the Duane Reade to hide for a minute. Gentrification along Kent Ave helps in situations like this. 5 years ago there would have been no where to take shelter, but now all your modern convenience is within reach in Williamsburg. I heard they are even building an IHOP soon. It started pouring harder so they ran, there was an indent in the side of a cement megalith apartment building to their right. It was the only place close enough to duck for cover.
They stood close and she could see he had blue eyes. He pushed wet hair away from her forehead. She thought, "Oh no, this is a moment, I got caught." She kept her hands in her pockets but it was too late. He kissed her softly, politely, gently. She let her hands out of her pockets and kissed him back.
Later he played the Clientele for her because he knew her story with them. The light painted on his face turned from gold to blue in the time they were there together. Talking about children, tree houses, New York, moving in and out of sleep, they kissed with their eyes open.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011