Luka and Jean-Paul stood like two art critics in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. "She had terrible aim.
When are you going to take that out of the wall?" Jean-Paul stated in a perturbed tone. "She wasn't aiming at me," said Luka as he incredulously defended the girl who hated him. "She wasn't aiming at all - she was upset."
"I'm upset!" said Jean-Paul. "That was my snow globe; my aunt Margret sent me that from Holland, and now it's lodged in a wall!"
"I actually don't think it's broken," said Luka as he took off his smudged glasses and squinted his eyes. "I don't want it now! That's evidence," said Jean-Paul. They both looked at each other and smiled. "She wasn't perfect, Luka; she saw the world dimly. You can't be happy and knowledgable, and you know that."
"You're happy," retorted Luka.
"Yes, but I'm the exception that proves the rule. My mind diverts hard truths away from my soul. I'm like a citizen in Orwell's 1984. I'm great at double-think," Jean-Paul said, laughing. "Plus, I ignore at least half of the conversations you try to have.""Denial is not a gift, Jean-Paul," said Luka irritably. "It is a gift," Jean-Paul retorted. "It's the glue that holds civilization together. Clara had plenty of issues unrelated to denial.""That's not true," said Luka, exasperated.
"On our first date, we went to Wal-Mart, and she told me it was her favorite store. I responded by telling her that taxpayers essentially subsidize Wal-Mart's low prices because their employees need government assistance just to survive. I explained that through taxes, we pay the difference between a livable wage and what Wal-Mart pays their employees so that we can get the low prices we crave. I actually said that, out loud, on a date!"
"Your first date was at Wal-Mart?" interrupted Jean-Paul.Luka ignored Jean-Paul's attempt to change the subject and continued with his self-flagellating meltdown. "She told me she loved Sea-World, so I asked her to watch 'Blackfish.""Wasn't that movie a bit dubious?" again, Luka pressed on, ignoring Jean-Paul's color commentary.
"She asked me to recycle. She believed in recycling, and I responded by telling her that most recycled plastics end up in landfills or the ocean. I told her that plastic manufacturers push recycling to make us feel bad for using the products they create in order to shift blame onto the consumer and shift costs onto the planet. Who does that?"
"I noticed that her mom gave her everything she wanted so that she wouldn't complain about her step-dad molesting her as a child. I said, out loud, that her mom used her wealthy step-dad's money as hush money so that they could both escape the clutches of poverty. And I honestly didn't see a problem with that. Her relationship with her mom fell apart within days of that little observation."
"And last week, she told me that she learned how the organic food industry might not be as beneficial for the planet as they portray themselves to be. I responded by telling her that glyphosate, a chemical used in most inorganic weed killers, gave migrant farmers non-Hodgkins lymphoma and was probably giving us all cancer."
"I am a weed, Jean-Paul. I choke the life out of happiness and hope.""Well, we could go get some glyphosate and try to prove your theory," joked Jean-Paul. "C'mon, let's just play some 'Gunman's Valor' and get off of this weed business. If afterward, you still miss Clara, you can run around the apartment while I throw all my prized possessions at you."
Luka fashioned a half-smile as they sat down to play. -
YOU ARE READING
Big Toe
General FictionLuka is a polite introverted college student whose life begins to unravel when his girlfriend of three years leaves him. He soon finds himself unable to maintain his grades and pay his rent. Working full-time while sleeping in his car, Luka decides...
