Kepler-452b & 10 per cent

It was a beautiful July afternoon 

a kind of afternoon you didnt want to let go of or let pass you by without dancing in it

he didnt dance

but he wouldnt mind walking

she gave him an elbow in the ribs

--   You dance

--   Occasionally with music  with the right incentive(he oogled her and smiled)   and the right amount of liquor

--   Thats not true you . . .

--   Stop  he interrupted  It is true    if youd think about it

Just   please        think about it

--   I dont think youre being fair to yourself

--   I am

Worse   Im being true  to myself

--   Youre a hard sell

--   The hardest

so taking advantage of the day that wanted them to they walked down to the redwoods on the mall before the city hall and crossed the towns main artery to a local brewery beside a ravine and its creek thirsty for rain

coming from below they could hear wood limbs cracking   pitch splitting thin branches

triage

it made them that much more thirsty

they entered the pubs air-conditioned clime and ordered a couple of Imperial IPAs  then grabbed a bowl of pretzels

and fled outofdoors

                                                                                                 

she was keeping her phone near to finalise some plans with her brother for his visit from out of state  and since theyd entered the time slot he told her hed likely be free to talk  she smiled huge and tapped at its keys  utilising the wifi

and casually  very casually  mentioned to him NASAs discovery of a planet  perhaps  in deep space  it was being touted as Earths doppelganger

--   Kepler-452b *  she said

--   What                                                

I havent heard of it

How do you know this stuff

--   You know me  Im the geek of this crewe

Im always following space news  You know how much I love space

--   I do  though Id prefer you ran with freak  rather than a geek

You know we have chickens in the neighborhood

Dont wanna upset the neighbors

he tried always to appreciate what a good thing he had in her  this wasnt the first time she caught him flatfooted and utterly clueless

or maybe he was trying desperately to hang onto his laurels  

at the beginning of their walk he mentioned to her a Truman quote he read in Flags of Our Fathers  --  they naturally seemed to take turns informing the other  --  which he read while she briefly touched up her face 

  

                                                                                              The only thing new in the world is the history you dont know 

though he could suppose she confirmed Truman exactly with her Kepler news

maybe let him enjoy  a little bit longer  the taste of his passing glory

then bitterly shelled him out of existence

after Kepler-452b

 

                           he committed it to memory

she might forget the numbers in a couple days  she wasnt particularly good with figures

and since he discovered 36-24-36 

he was spectacular with figures

and if she did forget he would be able to sweep in like a heroic white knight on a steed and save his damsel from distress(hmm  maybe he had a draumatic flair after all)

                                                             they talked about dinner preparations

he was the prep cook to her witch

she managed the nuances of herbs and spices and eyes of newt

unless it was barbecue

he was just a grateful satiated cog in the machinery of eating

they were walking back home when her brothers call came in

she told him to remember where they were in their conversation so when she got off the phone they could pick it back up

--   Its interesting  she said

                                                                                                           

before she answered he told her

--   Our conversations are always interesting  but the IPA is ten per cent alcohol

she didnt hear him

the wahwahwahwahwah began  the wind killing most of her brothers words beyond her ear at the phone while it was on speaker

--   Im sorry  she said  its hard to hear you  Were walking

Excuse me

Why are we walking

Why

Were walking because its an absolutely beautiful July afternoon

No 

Excuse me

No  We wouldnt take the car

Not far at all  a couple of miles

In one direction

A couple of miles

Youre funny  Were not crazy  Have you been out today   outside

Thats the temperature here

Thats not hot   No

No   Were not running the air-conditioner at the house

she momentarily took the phone from her head and said  He thinks were nuts to be out walking

--   Well  he lives in the city

she didnt hear him again

she had returned to the telephone call to help iron out the details of his upcoming trip

walking   the IPA colored afternoon only improved

                                                              

earlier the moon showed in the soft blue sky  approaching three-quarters  a pale silver egg

and as they walked to the pub they talked

they wondered if perhaps the moon was in profile to earth  or if she looked at them head on  directly

if NASA might secretly have placed a space station on the dark side of the moon as a military requisite for black-ops through the remaining century

if homophobes Wall Street whores and other entitleds  otherwise known as Republican candidates for Prez  indecently knew they were psychopaths

if there was such a thing  

                                         as someone authentically inauthentic

wrestling with their earlier conversations on the way over       

then her brothers phone call coming in

he was going to have to either make something up as a continuum of where they left off

she was sharper than that   maybe

or he was going to have to admit he didnt remember what they were talking about

or  maybe  shed remember where they left off  despite the 10 per cent IPAs

because it sounded  walking beside her  things were finalised and she was preparing to get off

What to do  What to do

of course he knew what to do

--   I love you too

Ill see you soon

God I hate talking on the telephone

--   I hear ya

--   Now where were we

--   Yaknow

Ya left me alone all by myself and I went pinball machine

Im sorry  I dont remember what we were talking about

Do you

--   No

As I hung on the telephone  delaying to say goodbye  I had no idea what we were talking about

--   So then  that said  we each could have made something up  lied  and the other would have bought into it lock stock and barrel 

 

What does that say about us

--   Probably  that we could be liars  but prefer to be honest

--   Yaknow  I love your mind almost as much as I love your breasts

2323,  Sunday,  26  7. 15

1510,  Monday,  27  7. 15

* http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2015-07/23/nasa-announces-earth-exoplanet

Jesus Hallie

You know this to be gospel
yet you try to remain coy unflappable  

and desperately try

to be genuine  leave it be  be thankful grateful to the comfort they are extending you

despite being uncomfortable before its very apparent innocence

she lived in the ramshackle house in the neighborhood

every neighborhood he ever lived in had one
                                   and it usually held an elderly man or woman whose impediment to maintaining their home and yard was simply the infirmity age had bestowed onto them(where well all be one day

if growing very old is granted us by the script) 

the early football game was over and he had a nice beer-buzz going  somewhere in the buzzing he remembered
that the old womans lawn on the corner needed cutting

he had a manual lawnmower(of course he did)  he turned it overits blades whirring as he pulled it  often he didnt know which aspect he appreciated more  its functionality to cut grass and the cut-grass perfume that rose in passing over it and into his nose or the blue air sliced whistling through its honed blades  

he loved sharp blades  his whetstones and steels   his stained butcherblock

they were something to love when you accidently cut yourselfyou never felt the cut  it was the trickle of blood or its colour that captured your attention

he left the mower inverted on the gravel beside the road opened the flimsy gate(hed have to get to it soon for her) and went up the broken stone walkway to her door

the front door was open   as was her absolution every day of her life for as long as hed known since moving into the neighborhood  she saved money on gas and electricity
she was frugal                    

the screen door he had fortified was shut

he rapped at it hard with his knuckles which reported like gunshots  they always gathered her attention 
Hallie  he called into the house

he heard noise coming from the back of the darkened house  she slowly emerged into the soft light coming from without

Hallie  Ive come to cut the lawnalright

approaching the screen she give him the look hed come to expect  Dear Lord  Is it You?

Its me  I saw you needed the grass cut and I have some time right now  Okay

his recognition finally crept into her rheumy eyes   Ah  Would you like an iced tea when youre finished

usually he declined but the second game hadnt made him curious  it was almost certainly written in stone despite
thats why they play the game  he rather do something else than see why they were playing it this afternoon

Hallie please  yes  that would be very nice   Thank you thats very thoughtful of you

Excellent   and she seemed to disappear float  back into the house

it took him all of a halfhour  the edging and clipping of the grass grown under the fence tines on his hands and knees stuck him with another half

finished  he walked about to be sure he hadnt missed anything like a thorough barber or hairdresser  and satisfied he left the mower on the stones before the gate walked up onto the porch again and rapped
Hallie

she floated into the light  Will you have the tea inside with me we could talk

That would be very nice   Though if you dont mind Ill sit on the floor   I do not want to soil any of your chairs or doyleys

Nonsense I prepared a chair in case you decided to come in and sit a spell

In that case excellent

she jimmied with the hook-eyed latch a bit(they decided shed lose the key if he put in a masterlock)  became briefly exasperated  to which he made her laugh when he told her he thought he heard the ice trying to get out of their glasses
she finally sprung the latch 
My  that took forever

Good things are typically worth the wait  Correct

Yes  You are right  All good things come to he who waits

And you made me wait

You are such a tease  and a kidder

I am   But you make me so

the last time he had been inside her house was when he placed the new screen door  some years now
she was old then 
the house smelled of her  soft roses   gentle roses
thats all he knew about her 
and that her Church came early on Sundays to pick her up and returned her home again

she had prepared a chair for him   a ladderback covered with newspapers

he gestured towards it 
Thank you  I could have saved you time   Sat on the floor 

I dont want you to sit on my floor 
she laughed 
Then you would have exposed the dirt and I would have to sweep the whole livingroom

he laughed Too sharp for me  

they sipped iced tea and talked generally 

she wanted to hear of where he had traveled and what he saw 

she was born in the house

during their conversation as his eyes grew more accustom to the closed curtained room he took in her curios the pictures on the wall

she had a fine fireplace
he told her he would be happy to confirm it drew so she might use it during the winter  she might enjoy a fireits warmth
but she declined
she had terrible dreams of dying in a fire and didnt want to her dreams at least those dreams to come true

he told her he could appreciate that

on its mantle there appeared something that was nearly brand-new   

bright like a new penny

too obvious to ignore in his now accustomed eyesight


it was that thing  that innocent thing  he wanted to leave be

Do you like it

he must have hesitated  wasnt as inobvious as he thought he was being 
Its something

You know of course who it is

I do  As you

If you do then I do

Yes

Why do you say it like that

That we know who it is  How can we not  I see youve embellished it with a palm frond cross

I did  I believe it is the truest image I have ever seen of Jesus Christ

Jesus

Dont you think

I think its really something
    

he scooped up his glass and finished its little remains  the icecubes small tickled his lip
I must go Hallie  Thank you for the tea

Thank you for sharing some time with me  and really enjoying my Jesus

Youre welcome sweetheart

 

1525,  Sunday,  26  7. 15