walking into their backyard on invite of the Acquaintance who insisted he
wasnt
insisted rather that he was a friend
but who he corrected --
a friend -- wasnt a term he was careless with bantered about or readily affixed
Youre odd man Thats why I dig ya Were definitely friends
he wasnt listening
that wasnt something a friend would do
the Acquaintance was throwing a barbecue
he had recently arrived
he was new to the area
he was new to the area
to
the invite which was personally extended he said What can I bring Keeping in mind I have to
bring something or Im not coming
My wife said everything is
covered
So then what is least abundant
Who the fuck talks like that Abundant
I do What can I bring
Beer
Id
suppose beer is always least abundant as you say A side if you like We having burgers nothing
special nothing elaborate Just a barbecue to get together knock around get to
know each other better
he brought iced melons a serving tray and two six-packs of cold beer
he carried them in brown paperbags on
bent arms as he walked up from the street
enterimg the yard on a
flagstone path through an opened gate at the side of the house at the back of the yard he saw him
beer bottle in hand
everyone and everything out in front of him
how hed fix it for himself
though less conspicuous
fucking less obvious
the bags complained about the way
he gripped him
eyes-on he didnt like him
he was going to make sure if it could be up to him that there would be plenty of ground between them
the cocksucker fixed him right off too
he was alert
amid this civvy life he was On
they were both On
then sudden eye contact
Conspicuous nodded at him
he nodded back
Shit
the burgers smelled good as they cooked
over an oak fire
he had a one of the beers he brought
he walked near the fire and chitchatted
his Acquaintance who invited him
his wife was a genuine looker
he liked showing her off
he really liked that he liked showing her off to others
as a possession
thinking mistakenly that he owned her
he made a point of introducing himself to her
she was oblivious to her husbands thinking
her husband told him her backstory at the office -- something a friend wouldnt -- that she was raised in a firm religious family
she was docile as a doe
the sweetest little thing you ever lay eyes on
sweet like sugar candy
meeting her now his description was apt
though hed bet shed whip up into a fine
high mountain of pink cotton candy if she ever really got going
got going was part of the brain the Bible affixed lesions to tamped down like cold ashes rendering it sexless
eradicated it
too bad
No
she would never see herself as he saw her when she looked in a mirror
if she was told she wouldnt hear it
she was brainwashed
it didntHell no It never mattered at all to her
there was no inverse to her
she was completely His
her husband wasnt her possession
No
he sought to be possessed regularly
he was firmly convinced thats what men did that was their obligation
men who upheld their homes and households in the palm of their warranted hands
he was a whore
hence an Acquaintance
Shit where did Conspicuous get to
he took his eyes off him when he laid them on the misiz and saw the misiz was more magical than he anticipated
Gawddamn
Ah
There he is
still skulking at the back of the property near the tall hedge keeping everyone in front of him not to be flanked
or gotten behind
happily he realised he could enjoy his cotton candy reverie unmolested
as the afternoon whiled they
did their dance that only they were aware of
they ate apart
drank apart
however need for the head ruined that space
there was a commode built into the detached garage
all the men gravitated to it
he lost Conspicuous in the faltering sundown haze
he was distracted by his full bladder
exiting the garage(it was an elaborate bathroom complete with shower and urinal) they nearly walked into each other on the darkened stoop as he blew his nose into a handkerchief
Hey
Yeah through the handkerchief
nodding at it Camo
-- since he was a kid he preferred large cotton bandannas to a gentlemans white silk why-the-fuck-would-he-blow-his-nose-into-such-a-paltry-snatch-of-fabrick his mother firmly believed he ought to have rather than the handkerchief he did
Having a silk one aint using it Maw he told her Ill never be the Frankenstein monster youd like me to be
Created in your image --
Yeah
Service
there was that inevitable err or mistake or accusation military made about him which he knew they didnt like making
as if Service was the only means to create or required awareness and stealth
No Not service
As
a matter of fact blowing my nose into a camo handkerchief is probably as much
as the military would ever get out of me
Conspicuous took offense
as he expected
he wouldnt have expected anything less
as he expected
he wouldnt have expected anything less
Conspicuous stepped back away from him making room he stood with his feet a shoulders width apart
on the balls of his feet
Challenging
he learned all that as a kid from boxing
Conspicuous took on the look all fighters
worked on endlessly in mirrors like mesmerised New Zealand Maori warriors to instill terror in their
opponents chase their blood to icewater and also to convince themselves they were as
terrible horrifying as their tortured scowls and distended features depicted
Intimidation
(Oh the part intimidation is meant to play is
apparent at its root -- timid make
timid)
Friend(Ah his insult) Its my understanding this is a friendly barbecue
A gathering
You recognised I conceded the backyard to you So then dont come up here and act like Im provoking you with a singular albeit clever -- I must say -- remark
Use the head as you intended please
he stepped around him and walked away
he showed Conspicuous his back
though he walked with his ears on backwards
taking a man from behind has proven itself a high probability of success
despite cowardly
highly probable
being a soldier unfortunately made one less and less likely to fight in a ring
their techmachines arent made for hand-to-hand combat
as it turned out militaryman -- Conspicuous -- was another related though quickly-forgotten watercooler backstory
another colourful garnish for the
plattered burger barbecue his Acquaintance assembled
he obviously was a practitioner of twisting human psyches
part of Managements team
evidently – which is always rife with hearsay – Conspicuous often said everything was small stuff now nothing to worry once youve fought your way out of an ambush everything afterwards was small stuff
Acquaintance was duly impressed
he was more impressed with Acquaintances beautiful sexually-repressed wife and played hard with the thought if it were possible she had a wick or a fuse to light
1400, Saturday,
18 6. 16
1119, Sunday, 19 6. 16
1119, Sunday, 19 6. 16
