Ed looked at Mike's mouth and then his eyes. Standing in front of the register, almost as if he were a customer and not a job applicant, Ed just shook his head no and although he parted his lips to say he couldn't work there, Mike put his fingertips to Ed's face and said "It's okay, I understand."
And that ended the realest Ed had felt in his entire life. Standing on the very rim of reality, but feeling as if it were no more real than Part Two, Act Four in some Broadway play, Ed put both hands on the door of the pornography shop and as it gave way and opened, he let the gust of air that pushed from inside the store to the doorway float him back into the world he hated.
Posted by nft at May 31, 2004 11:16 AM