Particular Moments

More Stars than There are

Tag: conversations

December 5, 2015

Counseling, Wasted

“What do you hate the most?”

“..Why do you ask?”

“I know this is a bit personal, but it’s necessary for your psychological profile.”

“I suppose. You mind if it’s a list?”

“Of course not, go ahead.”

“Um, apathy? Ownership, deceit, betrayal…hate? Rigidness, Narrow minds. Being overly fair and square—with physical, material objects. It’s different from emotional fairness, which is actually more of an ideal.”

“Alright” she said,  reassuringly, as she finished jotting down on her notepad. “Now, let’s move on to a different question.” She smiled, politely.

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Damn it, this is definitely and most easily an occasion better suited for bad television.   

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“What do you love?”

“What do you mean?”

“Anything that comes to mind that strikes you as sacred—you may make a list for your answer as well.” She was encouraging, and gentle—but really, professional. It’s her profession, a vocation.

“Phew…this is challenging. Uh, oranges.”

She smiled again, but this time more obligated, annoyed. “How about a serious answer?”

“None of this.”

“Pardon me?”

“You asked for what I loved.”

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November 25, 2015

Certain Kinds of Men

“Can’t sleep?”

[silent, stares into his glass]

“You want a sleeping pill?”

“No.”

“Pain pill?”

“No” he shook his head, and smiled.

“I have pills for everything—some make you taller…some make you forget.”

[snorts, quietly, and looks at his companion with a tiresome grin]

“Well, I’m going to try and get some sleep.”

“Good idea,” he responded, withdrawn, and looked deeper into his glass as the pill man retreated back into his induced slumber.

 

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November 16, 2015

Conversations: Mutual Surmising

“About you, Miss Lynd? Well, your beauty’s a problem. You worry you won’t be taken seriously.”

“Which one can say of any attractive woman with half a brain.” She abruptly responds, factually.

“True. But this one overcompensates by wearing slightly masculine clothing. Being more aggressive than her female colleagues. Which gives her a somewhat *prickly* demeanor, and ironically enough, makes it less likely for her to be accepted and promoted by her male superiors, who mistake her insecurities for arrogance. Now, I’d have normally gone with ‘only child,’ but by the way you ignored the quip about your parents… I’m going to have to go with ‘orphan.'”

[she grins, her chin slightly raised, and fixed her gaze upon him]:

“All right… by the cut of your suit, you went to Oxford or wherever. Naturally you think human beings dress like that. But you wear it with such disdain, my guess is you didn’t come from money, and your school friends never let you forget it. Which means that you were at that school by the grace of someone else’s charity: hence that chip on your shoulder. And since your first thought about me ran to “orphan,” that’s what I’d say you are.”

[he smiles, silent]

She continues, “Oh, you are? I like this poker thing. And that makes perfect sense! Since MI6 looks for maladjusted young men, who give little thought to sacrificing others in order to protect queen and country. You know… former SAS types with easy smiles and expensive watches.”

[he glances at his wrist]

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November 15, 2015

Conversations: The Framed Portrait

“Is that…a picture of Hannah?” Looking at the picture, framed and airbrushed—all too formal for its intended purpose, whatever it might have been—you felt uneasy.

“Yeah, man.” He replied in a-matter-of-fact way.

“That’s interesting…hmm, *hmmphh—–hahaha…..oh gosh, Bryan” there was something about the portrait, enclosed by a wooden frame, that struck you as hilariously bizarre.

“What, is it not okay for me to have a picture of my girlfriend?” He joked, impersonating the shrilling tone of a stereotypical prick; however, he was obviously annoyed.

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Your girlfriend. I’d imagine she’s more than that. 

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You threw a more probing humor at him, “So, what’s this, some kinda trophy? Like a proud declaration saying, ‘Oh YES, I’ve got her. Yep, kept my eyes ON the PRIZE…Now she’s all MINE.’ Does that kinda-sorta represent the mentality behind this gesture?”

Whenever you decide to interrogate someone, to avoid being socially unacceptable, you always present your questioning in a nasty, comedic manner. In this case, you did your best to furnish your line with Le American Southern Twang (momentously lyrical and intoxicatingly addictive of an accent to listen to and practice with).

“Whatever. Look, this is what people do when they are in serious relationships.”

“Really? I thought that’s what people do when their daughters graduate from high school and leave the nest for a couple of years. You know, the glamour shot; close-up portrait and stuff like that; for glorified remembrance.”

“You are over thinking it, _______(place name here). It’s just a picture, like I have framed photos of my family.”

“Well hey, you do whatever. I just really hope you are not trying to make her into a sister of some sort. That’d be crazier than all of my previous suspicions” you chuckled.

Bryan looked at you, in an irritated disdain, “Fuck you, _______.”

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Christ, what a compulsive liar. Bryan, you and your self-righteous justifications—you lying, cheating fucktard. 

 

 

 

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