Leonard

Steven sighed as he slowly plucked the strings on his guitar.  He had already tuned the strings four times and resisted the urge to do it again out of anxiousness.  Leonard was late again.  This was becoming a troublesome habit if his.  Leonard would burst through the door, out of breath, bass in hand.  He would mumble something about traffic and sit down to immediately start playing.  Steven knew what was really going on.

            It was Nicole, Leonard’s girlfriend.  That woman was sucking the life out of him.  He could tell by the puffy look in Leonard’s eyes that he had been crying.  Steven could not believe that Leonard would wear his emotions on his sleeve like that.  Steven’s policy of suppressing everything that could convey emotions had done him well for years.  He had used those Easter Island heads as a model of stoicism.

            It was this very skill that had allowed Steven to have some kind of relationship with Leonard.  The more withholding Steven was, the more Leonard desperately sought his approval and attention.  It made Steven feel like a god, having someone around like this.  His girlfriend was just like him, so the most he could ever expect to get out of Susan was a reluctant admission of satisfaction.  But Leonard, he was like a reservoir of raw emotion wearing a t-shirt. 

            Perhaps it would be different if they saw each other more than once a week, but Steven was hesitant to do that.  He could only handle so much of Leonard’s emotional outbursts.  Leonard was fine in moderation, but too much of him would prove to be overwhelming.  Steven had enough trouble navigating the world as it is, he did not need this mopey, sobbing man-child reminding him how unfair the universe is. 

            Steven smiled at Leonard, told him not to worry about being late, and they tried to decide on a song to play.  In the back of his mind, Steven dreaded the moment when Leonard asked him how his week had been.  That was not a question he ever liked answering.

The Move

Steven sighed as he started down at the box in his hand.  The word “bedroom” was sprawled on the side in black marker like graffiti.  It was one of dozens of identical boxes littering the room.  All had something written on them to denote where their final resting place was to be.  Steven sighed as he turned to the stairwell to make the three story journey to the truck below.

            Steven hated all of this.  He did not want to move.  He liked his studio apartment.  Sure, it was dank and dark and his neighbors were too loud, but it was comfortable to him.  It had been his home for the past 5 years and now he was leaving it.  She was making him leave it.  Susan, his girlfriend decided that they were getting a place together.  Steven, though he liked, even loved Susan, did not share her feelings.  Steven was not comfortable with change.  He liked things to always be the same.  That is why he had been getting the same haircut since 2002 and never threw out any clothing.  It had been an unhappy day when Susan had escaped from his place with 3 garbage bags full of his old t-shirts and memories.  Susan had not listened when Steven had tried to explain to her why he needed that Green Day t-shirt with the holes in it.  Some people just don’t understand sentimentality.

            Steven sighed as he watched the movers go about their business.  Apparently none of them knew what the word fragile meant by the way they handled his belongings.  It might as well be a foreign language by the way they tossed the boxes around.  Steven thought about speaking up, but talked himself out of it.  He did not want confrontation.  Especially with men who were capable of carrying a sofa down three flights almost single handedly.

            Steven forced out a half smile and then turned to make the return journey up stairs.  The universe was conspiring against him and this whole ordeal of “moving” was just beginning. 

Steven's Favorite Bands

Rush

Journey

The Pixies

Blind Melon

Led Zeppelin

Def Leppard

The Who

The Game

Steven did not understand what all the excitement was about.  These slack jaws around him were fixated on the television and braying like donkeys every time one of the players touched the ball.  The flags hung everywhere.  All around him people were decked out in the red, white, and blue.  Steven felt alone in a sea of patriotic idiocy.  These people did not care for this sport.  Two weeks ago they barely knew it existed.  Now they were standing on top of tables and leading the whole place in their moronic cheers.

            Steven had not wanted to come here.  His best friend Greg, whom he hated, has dragged him along.  He had said something about meeting women here.  Steven had argued that he and Susan were only on a break, and he didn’t want to meet women who hung out at a place where the servers wore referee uniforms.  As a general rule, Steven did not like crowds, or people, or Buffalo wings.  This place represented a hellish landscape to Steven.

            He took another drink of the swill they passed off as beer.  They served it in a giant glass, as if giving you more of it made up for the fact that it was absolutely terrible.  They probably just used the tap in the kitchen and passed it off as lager, Steven thought.  A roar went up from the crowd.  Someone must have scored, or not scored, Steven did not bother keeping track.  Greg was off at the bar, making new friends and socializing with people who actually wanted to be there.  It was just as well to Steven.

            He pulled out his well-thumbed copy of “The Road” and began to read.  He was lost in his mind for what seemed like ages when he was suddenly jolted back to reality by a loud throat clearing.  He looked up, and one of the busty zebras who worked here was standing over him.  She made that smile that you make when you are obviously faking and asked Steven if he would like another.  Steven resisted the urge to upturn the contents of his half empty stein onto her pink highlights.  He only sighed, pushed down the frustration, and politely said no.  He hated Greg even more for this.