“Why am I standin’ here lookin’ under the hood with you? You know I have no damn clue what I’m lookin’ at.” Mary said as she lit a cigarette and watched me look underneath the hood of the Ferrari.
“Because. I need you to hand me things. Hand me that cloth.” I said pointing to a ripped up piece of t-shirt that I had pulled out of the trunk. Mary did so and I pulled the dipstick out of its reservoir and wiped it.
“At least tell me what you’re doin’.” Mary said taking a drag on her cigarette.
“Checking the oil level.” I said examining the dipstick “It looks good.” I jammed the dipstick back into the reservoir.
“And you’re doin’ this because?” Mary questioned me as she waved her cigarette around.
“Well, Roger and I…are goin’ on a cruise tonight. Gonna’ make this thing scream.” I told her.
“Well! That sounds simply…” I cut Mary off.
“Don’t say anythin’. Roger doesn’t know we’re gonna’ do this yet.” I winked at her. Mary just loved that as her face lit up. She watched me adjust a filter cover.
“And all of a sudden you don’t trust the oil?”
“It’s not that, it’s just that when you get up to some high speeds, you gotta’ make sure everythin’ is smooth.” I said. Mary shook her head. We were both quiet for a moment.
“What’s it like livin’ with someone?” she asked inhaling her cigarette.
“It’s…it’s wonderful and it’s very frightening and…wait shouldn’t you be askin’ the newly engaged about this?” I smiled at Mary. She laughed.
“I want to hear what you have to say.” She insisted. I tilted my head and shrugged my shoulders.
“I thought you were excited about movin’ in with Freddie? If you have reservations you shouldn’t do it.” I said.
“Oh Lydia. I am excited. I’m so very excited in fact that I’m hoping he doesn’t change his mind or that I wake up from a dream or something. Tell me what it’s like.” She insisted.
“Well it really is wonderful but it’s also an eye-opening experience. On one hand, it’s reassuring knowing that every mornin’ and every night you’re gonna’ wake and go to sleep next to him; that the two of you are gonna ‘play house’ so to speak. But then, right before the move in actually happens…it hits you. Shit, he’s gonna’ see everythin’ about me. Everythin’. He’ll see all those things that you normally never want a man to see. Like when you wake up in the mornin’ and you don’t have a stitch of makeup or when you wear your favorite baggy sweatshirt without a bra after the shower. You’ll be terrified you’re gonna’ do something embarrassin’ in your sleep like slobber all over your pillow. He’s gonna’ see it all. When you secretly used to buy a cheesecake and then binge on half of it after only eating a few bites of dinner on your date?” I shook my head admittingly. “Yeah…that’s bullshit now ‘cause he’s gonna see you do it. When you spit in the sink after brushin’ your teeth? Guess what? He’s gonna’ see you spit; you may even spit on him a little.” Mary laughed at me. “I’m serious! But…it’s the same for him too. You’re gonna’ see everythin’. And whatever it was that made you attracted to him to begin with? Well, it changes because you suddenly find yourself desperately attracted to all the little cracks in the surface and all the so called flaws and those things that really make him…him. You know, the side of a man that he would never, ever let anyone else see outside of his own four walls. You become insanely attracted to him…wearing his own skin.”
YOU ARE READING
The Ridge Farm Summer
HumorIt's a beautiful summer in Kensington but it's an even more beautiful summer in Surrey. The place is Ridge Farm and it would prove to be so much more than just a place to record. What better place to spend with your friends than being captive in the...
