."i've know carmel for along time ." i said ." since she was -" she laughed softly as she stopped me with a headshake that was brisk enough to cause her hair to move ." don't say " little " ? okay ?
she's sensitive about it . her size ."
"a kid ," i said .
"better ."
the woman stepped forward and pulled the door closerd behind her . fior a few seconds she stood on the compact tiled landing between the urns , her arm folded across her chest .i was starled when she reached past me . with a sudden motion she deadheaded a dated blossom off the bird - of paradise . she twisted the flower off the stem hard , as though ahe were decapitating a chicken .
her shoulder brushed agaisnt my arm as she pulled back ." sorry ." she said ." sometimes the urge just ..... strikes ."
:oh ," i managed .
"i love these ," she said , gesturing at the flowers ." when i get a house , i want to have an entire hillside of them ."
" we don't have them in colorado ."
"mel misses boulder ," she said ." she talks about it a lot . it is as pretty there as she says ?":
she was standing no more than a foot from me , holding the faded bloom in front of her with both hands as though it were a wedding bouquet .
"it's pretty ," i said ." but there are lots of varieties fo pretty ."
carmel's roommate stepped away from me and sat on the top of the stairs that led from the cracked sidewalk . she's picked the side of the step that was bordered by a rickety wrought-iron handrail , which left enough room for me to sit beside her . she was continuing to hold the dead flower in her hands .
i would have tossed it into the black hole of degrading ice plant .
sunlight was fighting to find a way to sneak through the chemicals and moisture downtown and the distance - above the flatlands that spread between downtown and the pacific ocean - i watched two breaks form in the low ceiling . bright shafts opened , scalding the ground with light .
she's sensitive about it . her size ."
"a kid ," i said .
"better ."
the woman stepped forward and pulled the door closerd behind her . fior a few seconds she stood on the compact tiled landing between the urns , her arm folded across her chest .i was starled when she reached past me . with a sudden motion she deadheaded a dated blossom off the bird - of paradise . she twisted the flower off the stem hard , as though ahe were decapitating a chicken .
her shoulder brushed agaisnt my arm as she pulled back ." sorry ." she said ." sometimes the urge just ..... strikes ."
:oh ," i managed .
"i love these ," she said , gesturing at the flowers ." when i get a house , i want to have an entire hillside of them ."
" we don't have them in colorado ."
"mel misses boulder ," she said ." she talks about it a lot . it is as pretty there as she says ?":
she was standing no more than a foot from me , holding the faded bloom in front of her with both hands as though it were a wedding bouquet .
"it's pretty ," i said ." but there are lots of varieties fo pretty ."
carmel's roommate stepped away from me and sat on the top of the stairs that led from the cracked sidewalk . she's picked the side of the step that was bordered by a rickety wrought-iron handrail , which left enough room for me to sit beside her . she was continuing to hold the dead flower in her hands .
i would have tossed it into the black hole of degrading ice plant .
sunlight was fighting to find a way to sneak through the chemicals and moisture downtown and the distance - above the flatlands that spread between downtown and the pacific ocean - i watched two breaks form in the low ceiling . bright shafts opened , scalding the ground with light .
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