They Call Me Red
#author……https://buff.ly/2GJSDsG
24 June 2013
I wasn’t expecting to see Joy this morning; she’s told me previously, ‘I don’t do Mondays,’ but there she was
I said, “I wasn’t expecting you to be here.”
“I should have stayed home, for all the good it’s done me.”
“How was your weekend.”
“It was quiet. I didn’t go out.”
“Did you see anybody?”
“No, on Saturday I bought a foot-long sub from Subway. I ate half and put the rest in the fridge. I wasn’t feeling well after that. When I ate the other half on Sunday, I really got sick; puking, the shits, everything. I’m still not feeling too well this morning, but I’ve just had the dry heaves. I must be getting over whatever it was I had.”
I said, “You must be enjoying your new furniture, especially your sofa.
“Yeah, the sofa sure beats sitting on the one chair I had. I spent all weekend there.”
“What else did you say you got?”
“A couple of end tables, a shelf that goes on one of the tables I had already, some nice sheets, bedding, towels, oven mitts, that kind of stuff. Oh, and a thing for the kitchen that holds salt and pepper.
“See that guy in the shorts, stopping people by Tim Horton’s. He was standing right in front of me a while ago telling people that I’m a fake, that I’m not really homeless. I’ve never told anybody I was homeless. I don’t say anything. All my regulars know I’m not homeless; I’m doing this so I don’t starve. I think he’s pissed off because nobody’s giving him any money.
“I got something on my chin that’s really bugging me. See these spots. Mariah has the same thing. My feet are really dry and cracking as well.”
I said, “It could be some form of eczema. You should check with your doctor. Do you have your health papers?”
“No, not yet. They gave me some creme in the hospital. I had the same thing then, but it’s so greasy, I hate to use it.
“See that parking control guy. He’s given out more tickets than anybody else who comes along here.”
I said, “I bet this car here gets a ticket. It’s stupid blocking a lane at this time of the morning.”
“Yeah, I told him, I said, ‘If you park there you’re going to get a ticket.’ He said, ‘No, I won’t. I’ll just be a few minutes.’ I said, ‘You’re going to get a ticket, see that sign there.’ “
I said, “Some people think they’re too important to obey signs.”
“Yeah, that was this guy alright.” The traffic control officer arrived and wrote a ticket for the car we’d been talking about. “That’s going to be eighty bucks.”
People walked by, some waved at Joy. She smiled. “Humans,” she said, “go figure.”
…
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