solitary bees, 63
Tell me about your vacation?
They are at a ball game in a neighboring town.
I think you’ve had first hand access to it.
No. That’s not what I mean. The one you didn’t go on.
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solitary bees, 62
She throws something at him.
He wakes up.
What?
Have you read the princess and the pea?
Yeah. A long time ago.
What did you think about it?
The obvious, I guess.
Don’t say anything sexist.
What did you think about it, other than being taken care of?
Something she couldn’t ignore but something she didn’t feel comfortable about. Something she wanted to have control over or desensitize herself to. Numb the awareness of.
Are you cold? Do you have enough blankets?
That’s exactly the type of thing I’m talking about; but I’m fine actually. Plenty warm up here. A princess on one mattress.
A while later he is snoring.
solitary bees, 61
What’s that sound?
What?
What’s that sound?
I didn’t hear it. I was asleep.
Listen.
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solitary bees, 60
I need you to scratch my back.
Anything else?
Why don’t you just take care of that.
Amy
solitary bees, 59
I want a massage. I want you to rub my feet. I want you to paint my nails. I want you to make me something to eat. I want you to draw me a bath. I want you to find something pretty you think I might like, something I’ve never thought of before. If I’ve thought of it before there will be other tasks I require of you until you find something for me beautiful that I could never imagine. After that I want a soda, in a nice tall glass with lots of ice…. Are you sure you’re awake?
Silence.
You aren’t even listening to me.
She farts.
Solitary Bees, 58
When we get this puzzle done, I’m free to go?
He nods.
Are you sure you’ve thought about it?
He nods.
All the way through?
Of course I have.
I don’t think you’ve prepared yourself for what’s going to happen.
solitary bees, 57
I want you to brush my teeth. After that, I want you to shave my legs. And under my arms. If it tickles me, I don’t want you to stop. I want you to smile but not respond to me…. Are you awake?
Yes.
Did you hear what I said?
Sort of.
Go and get my toothbrush.
solitary bees, 56
What’s the square root of three?
I have no idea. That’s not my kind of intelligence.
Mine either.
Solitary Bees, 55
Do you want to go into town?
What would we do that for?
Change of pace. I could show you around.
Believe me, I’ve seen it.
But this would be a new context. I could show you my old stomping grounds, where I grew up and stuff.
Why don’t we go somewhere else. Besides, someone might see us.
What do you want to see? Where do you want to go?
Anywhere but here for now.
solitary bees, 54
Did you spend much time at this place when you were a kid?
The occasional Sunday meal and a couple weeks one summer when my parents were out of town.
How’d that go?
I don’t know. My grandfather was pretty gruff and I was a pretty sensitive boy.
The story of your life. The name of your novel.
I don’t understand.
A pretty, sensitive boy.
Cyrus
Amy
solitary bees, 53
I want to take a walk. By myself.
Do you think that’s a good idea?
What kind of question is that?
Will you come back?
Isn’t that the point?
That you’ll come back?
That you’ll find out.
solitary bees, 52
Is there anything you want me to get you that isn’t in the suitcases?
If there was, do you think I’d tell you?
solitary bees, 51
It is darker now. The light is on on the night stand beside her. She is scraping the last of vanilla ice cream from a bowl. There is a raspberry left in there she picks out and plops into her mouth.
You know, I’ve been trying to think if I remember seeing you come into the shop or even around town.
He has his hands on the arms of his chair and has been staring straight ahead. He looks over at her.
I mean, I keep racking my brain trying to think of when I might have seen you. Surely an individual as fucked up as you would have made a greater impression on me. But nothing. Blank slate. It’s like you must have been invisible.
He gets up and walks over to her. He holds out his hand.
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Mom
Derek
solitary bees, 50
He washes the dishes downstairs in the kitchen. The steam clouds around him. When he turns off the water it is really quiet in the house. He dries his hands and walks up the stairs to check on her. She is sitting up in bed, her elbows on her knees, her face in her hands. When he turns around, the floor creaks. She looks up to see him walking away from her. She wipes at the tears on her cheek and says mostly to herself, I was serious about that dessert.
solitary bees, 49
While she is eating, he sits on the floor in the hall and reads from the book he was going to share with her. He reads quietly, mouthing the words to himself. She eats hungrily. The door is open. The light is on on the night stand next to her. She makes a lot of noise with her utensils.
I sing the song of myself, she says as loudly as she can. What a load of shit.
He closes the book between his hands, leans his head against the wall, closes his eyes. She throws a plate through the door at him.
I’m ready for my dessert now!
solitary bees, 48
I want to read some things to you that are important to me.
She has her arms crossed, looking out the window.
Is that okay?
She looks back toward him reluctantly.
You’ve got yourself a captive audience. I don’t see how it matters what sort of permission I give you.
Not true, he says quietly.
You’re quite the gentleman.
Maybe this isn’t the time for this.
He puts a book he has been holding into his pocket.
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Memorial
Amy
solitary bees, 47
You know where I live, obviously.
Actually I don’t. I only know where you worked.
I still work there.
It came out wrong.
What did you mean then?
I mean I just knew you from there. Saw you there. Overheard your vacation plans.
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clusterstache
