Youdidn’thear?sheasks assheplacespastriesonthetable hereyes
staringintomine,mine staringintonowhere asshetellsme
Edgargo triedtoenditall withsleepingpillsandbeer,they
foundhimpassedoutatthecurbside tookhimto
theemergencyroom&pumpedhisstomach Whatelse?Iask. Shesays
Lucas isinUruguaywithhisgirlfriend,trying hishandatwriting
andsays hehasathousandnewideaseachmorning, he
wishesyouwouldvisitmoreoften,shesaysas shewipesthecrumbs
fromherlipsandsays,Ourgroup’sdisbandedsinceyouleft
shewhispers herfingerstracing thecoffeecup.
What’slifelikeinYanquilandia?sheasks andItellher
LessthanIexpected. Iwas hopingI’dfitinmore
but Idon’tnow. I’mlearningtoacceptit. You
learntoliveinseparateworlds,separate &similar then
everythingturnsintoone. Inonemoment, everythingiscrushedinto
onlyonechoice only:Here. Thisiswhereyoulive. Thisishow
themorningshappen, &how cricketssinginthesummer.
WhenIreturned,Itellher,Iaskedthesamequestions, butwhenIaskthem
theysay: Mark diedofaheartattack andtheydon’tknowwhy,
and Jono gotmarried&didn’tinviteyoutohisbachelor’sparty.
Pete droveoffabridgeon astormynightinCostaRica. There’sno difference,it’sjust adifferentsurrounding,different
names&backgrounds.Intime thetwoworldsgrowmoreandmore
similar, nolongerseparate,nolonger amystery,
andyourlifegoeson likeitalwayshas.
This article appears in August 2007.
