A Simple Kind of Life

U Got It Bad [Usher]

December 2002

Goldview

A thick draft of biting air swirled towards her as Anastasia leaned against the open crevice of the window. Each time she inhaled from her cigarette, her eyes closed, and a burning warmth filled her throat. And she watched as the smoke expelled from her mouth and dispersed into the sky—bright and sunny, but still so cold that she huddled into her robe to shield herself from it.

She could hear Mia behind her, at the island in her kitchen, peeling the wrappers off expensive chocolates, not even trying to be discreet as the crackling noise resounded in the room.

"I'm telling you, Anastasia, it is so weird over there—"

Mia's voice was thick and obscured from chocolate, and Anastasia released another breath into the outside void before tapping the ashes from her cigarette and turning to look at her. With her legs kicking from the high stool, Mia's fingers were coated in chocolate as she ate each piece out of the box, and it was a depressing sight, even for Anastasia.

She looked like shit, red hair faded into a bronzed orange, and her roots were growing in. Mia wore baggy sweatpants and a hoodie so oversized she was almost drowning in it. And she didn't seem to care, sitting there shoving candy into her mouth and licking the remnants off her nails.

The white marble top of the island was covered in wrappers and little fingerprints, and Anastasia didn't find the energy to be bothered by it. The housekeeper was supposed to come tomorrow and she could deal with Mia's mess. And she remained seated at the windowsill, her legs bare and crossed messily, rubbing a fist into her eye as she listened to Mia's complaints.

"They are totally obsessed with the dog. They put weird little outfits on him, and I swear to God, Aiden even cooks for him." Mia took a moment to swallow before sliding her glass of milk towards her, taking several swift gulps. "And Aiden—he's a total neat freak. Always fucking cleaning something. You breathe wrong and he wants to clean it. I saw him on his hands and knees scrubbing the kitchen floor like fucking Cinderella."

Anastasia nodded with disinterest as her face motioned back towards the window. Sipping from the cigarette, the smoke fled her nostrils. "Wow. What a bunch of freaks."

Her tone was lifeless and bored, but Mia didn't notice it. "Aiden's always in my face about something. That I'm being messy or hogging up the internet and asking me if I took my meds and shit."

Anastasia tilted her eyes towards her while pressing her elbow into the ledge. A cold gust enveloped her, and she could feel the air slip within her robe. "So does he like, walk around with his shirt off and stuff?"

Mia's expression contorted into repulsion, shoving the chocolates away from her. She held onto her stomach as if she was going to throw up. "Stacey, what the fuck!"

Anastasia only shrugged casually, however, biting down onto the cigarette and balancing it at the corner of her mouth. "What? He's hot."

Mia's face gnarled, and she looked like a very unpretty version of herself, eyes narrowed into little clefts as her eyebrows pressed lines into her forehead. "Maybe you should let your boyfriend know you think that."

As a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth, Anastasia focused her gaze outward, watching the clouds shift and blend into one another as the cigarette smoke wafted along the breeze. Her leg crossed lazily over the other, and she wondered if the sudden warmth in her gut was from the smoke or because Mia got her thinking of him.