Conversations

(Words of Wisdom and Fraught Moments Enter Monday Through Sunday)  THURSDAY (Manhattan) J: I think New York is a good place for you…to be alone. You specifically. I always told you, but you never listened. I have been saying this since Tucson.  SATURDAY (Queens) V: Do you have proof of where you live? A bill or letter or something? Anything? Me: No… I have my passport. My wallet was stolen…I don’t have a driver’s license.  V: Do you live in the neighborhood? If you do, I can wait… but…you have to bring something back. You have to prove that you actually live here. SUNDAY (Brooklyn) T: Where are you from? E: Where IS Katie from? Katie, where are you from? Not Seattle… you’re from Milwaukee. That’s where she spent her formative years…the Midwest. Then she lived in Tucson and Boston and Minnesota…but she’s Midwestern. Right Katie? (hug) SATURDAY (Milwaukee) T: I’m sorry I didn’t invite you to the wedding. You moved away and we weren’t close anymore…and I really regret that now. I guess…I don’t know, I didn’t think you would come. So… are you ever coming back? SUNDAY (Brooklyn) Me: Why don’t you like living with him? T: It’s like he always wants to talk about his emotions and what’s going on in his life.  Me: He needs a girlfriend T: That’s just the problem… I mean… he has one… (kind of)… but he always wants to talk about her…it was pretty clear to the outside observer that it would never work…she would blow him off and then call and then he got excited, but now he just keeps talking about her…so I guess he needs someone else… and every morning now…he has to talk to me. WEDNESDAY (Manhattan) C: You cannot have a year long relationship in three-months- it doesn’t work. That’s your problem, you are just too intense. I have rules because…I think there are boundaries for a reason, like for one, no sex for at least three months Me: What else? C: Sleepovers 3 nights a week MAX Me: And? C: Wait at least a year before you meet the parents.  MONDAY (San Diego) S: You just need to be alone. I don’t know if you can…but you do. It might be hard at first, but then after like, 2 months…you won’t even care. FRIDAY (Manhattan) DR: This pain…I don’t think that…it’s anything…really. Have you had a lot of stress? Drinking more? Are you working a lot? I don’t think this is anything to worry about…and since you don’t have insurance, I don’t think we should do any tests. What I think is going on here is… psychosomatic. Really… I know you are in pain, but I think you are… just…going through a rough spot. THURSDAY (Milwaukee) Mom: You know what I do…I pray. I know you don’t like to hear that, but I do. And if I didn’t have that I would just shrivel up. I would… I would just die. Dad: DON’T get a puppy. Dogs are just a proxy. Women get dogs and then they have babies and then, you know what they think? They think the dogs can just go eat shit. I think a baby would be good for you. You can stop thinking about yourself for a change. Try taking care of someone else. Or maybe try carrying around a teddy bear for a while. MONDAY (Queens) J: Maybe someday you will actually find someone you want to fight for… until then …alcohol is a cold, cold substitute.  SATURDAY (Milwaukee) T: I always used to complain when I was pregnant and people tell you that being pregnant is the easy part. They are right. I think now, being pregnant was really easy. It’s like…you have it… now try keeping it alive. WEDNESDAY (Queens) J: Fuck you. Be cold or love me. But bring brandy either way. SUNDAY (Manhattan) H: Stress can do funny things. I mean… look at my hives! SUNDAY (Milwaukee) M: Meet me in Philadelphia on Thursday. You said if I was ever a train away. Me: My stomach is all fucked up.  M: Come on. Just get a ticket.  Me: Someone told me that Philly is like, New York’s fucked up cousin.  M: Just come. Me: Right. SUNDAY (Queens) J: Bring brandy only if you want to have a drink and laugh about this. Me: I’m laughing right now. J: Me too. Me: Just kidding. J: I’m not Me: Me neither. So there. J: So there.