Turning Things Over

You didn’t ever think you would find yourself buying condoms with cash at a gas station at three in the morning because you were too afraid to pay with your ATM card or check. She would have found it you know? She would have found out the hard way, harder than you think she would have or will. When you throw the pack of condoms on the counter the clerk spills his coffee, not because of the condoms, maybe what they were going to be used for, but more so who they were going to be used on or rather in.

She is a tall pint glass with pink lips and dark eyes like the tips of flamingo beaks. She has her arms full of Charleston chews, taffy and grape bubble gum. You can hear Octavio the sales clerk ask her if you are her boyfriend and she looks out the window at you smoking a cigarette which you are not supposed to be doing and tells Octavio no, that you aren’t her man. He is not listening to her, he is only scrutinizing her cleavage and the length of Charleston chews she has in her hands. He is sizing them up and feeling the bravado kick in. You can hear him ask her if she is gonna treat you right tonight and if she is going to make you feel good. She blows a bubble which pops in slow motion and smiles out the window at you like she always does because she is not as close to it as you are. Octavio tells her that she can have all the candy she wants, so she runs through the store and fills her pockets with Lifesavers and Rolos and she looks up from time to time holding a candy bar in the air waiting for Octavio to say that that is enough but all he does is nod, smile and lick his chops. She is like a kid in a candy store you think.

You put your cigarette out on the gas station cement and open the door for your lover. When she gets in the cab you tell her that you hate Charleston chews and she laughs and tells you that they are not for you.

The visor is down which still has a picture of your wife from the last canoe trip you went on in trinity. Your lover kisses you on the cheek and flips the picture upside down and you look at your wife out of place and the lake she was canoeing in turned topsy-turvy like a sky you would never see again.

You ask if this is how she wants it and she runs her hand up your thigh and looks at you with a sour apple stained tongue. She tells you that she has never had it before, so how would she know.