"Um, actually I'm going that way too. Yeah, I'm meeting some friends for a beer at the Huettenbar," you say holding the cab door open for her. " 1421 North Lincoln Avenue , at Lincoln and Lawrence," you tell the cab driver as he pulls away from the curb. "I know that bar," she says acclimating herself to the backseat of the cab. "I'm actually going to the square itself. My boyfriend just wrote an article on the six-way intersection of Lawrence, Lincoln and Western for a magazine and he fell in love with the area. I'm meeting him under the Lombard Lamp, this great neighborhood icon." A boyfriend. There it goes, up in smoke. You give her a fake smile and pretend to stare out the window. When you reach Lincoln Square you both get out of the cab and part ways. Frustrated you decide to just walk back toward your neighborhood and figure out another game plan along the way. After an exhausting half hour of walking goes by you pass by an alleyway where you see an abandoned mattress lying on the ground. A sleazy impulse passes over you and you decide to lie down on it for a minute. You reach into your pocket taking out the one joint you had the foresight to bring with you before you left the house. You light up and get high letting every stray thought pass through your brain before falling asleep outside under the stars. THE END |
