irimiko

Cathy is walking down the stairs of her fourth-story apartment when Owen and Seth come out of their apartment and see her in the stairwell. Owen greets her: "Hey, friend! Mon amie! I was just telling Seth we should see what our neighbors are up to. Hang out sometime. Uh... have some café! If you have some time, we have coffee on right now!"

Cathy looks concerned. She holds up her left hand to show Owen her wedding ring and says, "But, I'm married! Look!"

Seth puts an arm around Owen. "It's okay!" he tells Cathy. "We're only les amis!"

"Ah, good!" replies Cathy.

***

I guess they only know two words in French: friends and coffee. They probably took Spanish in school. If so, they'll be able to learn a few more words.

I'm having a little crisis about Owen and Seth right now. They're old, old characters, dating back to probably 1988, but I don't remember any of their character development. I should give them new character development! They appear in the book only for one scene, so I didn't do much about it then. But now they're back, so I should round them out and turn them into real people again.

***

I have a lot to say about the goings-on in the USA right now, but I don't even know where to start. One thing I can do to help myself through it is to admit that it's affecting me. I don't just have anxiety and dread over nothing. Last time I had a doctor's appointment, the nurse asked me if I had any anxiety or depression. It was just an item on her checklist, but we ended up talking for a while about the state of the world. Well, the effects of the state of the world on regular people. I might read more global news than she does, but I didn't need to get into the conflict between Cambodia and Thailand to be understood, even though that's weighing on me. I love both Cambodia and Thailand. To me, that would be like Boston and New York getting into a military conflict. To them, it's a flare-up of centuries-old tensions that will surely flare up again and again. To me, it's two locations in the same region, both beautiful in their own ways.

But now I'm watching the federal government vs. Minneapolis, so I guess my analogy doesn't sound quite as ridiculous as it should. Who's next? I'm sure we won't have to wait long to see the next WTF.

I'm sorry for how painful this is. But not sorry enough to write a different ending! It could always be worse.

Jon is sitting at the cafeteria table, unwrapping his sandwich, when Sarah, on her way back to her workstation, turns and says, "Oh, Jon, I think you're doing a great job. I noticed you're a very independent person, and I admire that! It must be really hard!"

"Nah, I was born like this," Jon replies with a half-smile.

"Oh, you were?" says Sarah. "I thought it was... an accident or something."

Jon's smile fades. "I mean I was born independent. A leader, not a follower."

"Oh! Right!" Sarah is trying hard not to look awkward. "Well, if you need a follower... wait no... that's not what I mean."

Oops, well, she failed at that.

"Right. See you upstairs," she mutters as she hastily makes her getaway.

Jon looks down at his lunch. "Huh," he humphs to himself.

Is 'humph' a verb? It is now.

***

I have some story arcs dangling from previous days! We'll have to revisit them tomorrow. I also have a longform scene or two planned. I just have to find the time, the ambition, and the energy to do some speed-drawing sessions. I've been working too slowly lately.