1451 days remain or fewer
she was starting to get worked upANTS! GODshe hated ants
ants run amokwrithing lines nerve-trees
and –endingsynapses exploding like vagrant weed blossoming littering the floor crawlingup
the cabinets fingering-out atop their surfaces foraging seeking mandibles snapping You
crawly lil bastards
forced in by the rain and
obviously attracted by the ill-habits of her co-workers and visiting therapists
who disregarded her pleas to clean-up after themselves wipe-up the spilt sugar
toss-out the emptied plastic creamer tubs sweep-away the crumbs of the baked
goods they munchedthat they couldnt resist as their elastic waistbands attested
no they didnt wouldnt listen to her Youre the paid help
I am but Im not paid enough(to wipe your ass – she
didnt say) to pick-up after you or should I
Youre every bit an adult I am so act like it please(they acted like fuckin prima donnas)
ants did what ants do
she could disdain them but she accepted
their Nature forged by tens of millenniums
these people hadnt that and she didnt have to tolerate their slovenly
laziness
standing there in the small
office at quarter after eight in the morning
it didnt open until nine in the
small kitchenette that provided a Keurig a fresh water cooler a compact
refrigerator napkins utensils paper plates courtesies for the staff she thought
I hate careless people
then she thought she didnt
No she thought I hate people
I hate ants
no she didnt
they werent enemiesshe hadnt enemies
did she have enemies
she didnt
she didnt hate despised she despised people and antsin that order because people should know
betterthey get top-billing her grade-A spite
Enemies she thought enemies could
only be had if she was an enemy to them an enemy because she deliberately hurt or
badly injured or killed one of them
Thats how an enemys made
she thought of her boyfriend
he was stoic abrasivepeople thought
he was abrasive but digging down you only had to understand and realise that he
held others to the same standard he upheld for himself and when people failed his
unspoken bar his reflex was curt
he
spoke plainly
he argued the facts of the
matterno hyperbole and he laid his points out end to end to end and concluded
with Please Refute me
ants did what ants do
he did too
no one refuted him because there
was nothing to refute
but they didnt want to swallow
their bitter yellow pill and they resented him for putting it on the table for
everyone to see
If you didnt want people to see
you shouldnt have tried to publicly shame me
believing perhaps that striking first you could embarrass or cow me into
silence
I
dont do silence when Im offended
he didnt try to make friendshe
didnt play games
yet when she tried to be as he
was did in kind others briskly denounced and demeaned her
Why
Aw baby Youre not a threatnot a physical threat and Im sorry to say that makes all the
difference Are you gonna punch somebody
in the mouth
No
No
You wouldnt But they cant count on me not to punch them in
the mouth I can sell that I would because I would
Thats the difference
but despite his willingness to
punch somebody in the mouth he didnt call them or refer to them as enemies
opponents he would say his opposites
hatred didnt inform him
common sense was his tool
he wield it ruthlessly
You cant refute the truth he said
no matter how uncomfortable it is
if they were uncomfortable that he
called them out maybe they should have stopped doing or saying whatever it was that
he pointed out with deliberate rancor and aplomb
Im no better than you he said We all put our pants on the same way Ive yet to see someone levitate and in
mid-air slip them on Then I might
reconsider
But I havent yet
she knew he wasnt holding his
breath either
opponents werent enemies
Yes she thought It would be queer to call someone youd never
met an enemy*
she didnt hate ants
she disliked them immensely
1342, Thursday,
26 1. 17
1043, Saturday,
28 1. 17
