Diminished

7

I heard the pianist in the morning so I put on my jacket and started walking to the jazz cafe. In the lobby I saw Richard was chatting with someone. As I got closer I realized I recognized the man. It was Eli.

“Hey,” I said.

He turned to me and his eyes lit up. “Hey! I was just in the area and-”

“You thought you’d stop by?”

“Yup. Richie’s explaining the turf war going on here. I understand now.”

“It’s complicated, isn’t it?”
“It’s extremely fucking complicated.” He flashed me a smile.

That’s when I saw it. I saw it and I felt a jolt of something and I thought of my upright bass. It was on his teeth. How unfortunate. Just a speck, but it was undeniable.

Magenta.

By the time I’d arrived to the coffee shop I’d felt like I’d sank a few inches. I grasped the edges of the countertop until melancholy settled in. I didn’t know if the barista was speaking to me. If he was I didn’t hear him. It was just like me. To get my hopes up over someone I’d met a couple days ago…

The barista slid a coffee and a mushy old cell phone to me.

“No.” I said loudly. “Not today.”

“I just do as I’m told.”

I found myself scowling at him. I took a deep breath. This wasn’t me. I needed to calm down. I grasped the glass with both hands and took a sip. The coffee was good.

The phone buzzed. I answered it immediately.

“Are you loved?”

“No!”

“Do you have anything to lose?”

“I… no, I don’t.”

“Do you want her back?”

I walked into the room and I saw her. I saw her calf poking out from under the bedsheets and I saw that it was on top of someone else’s. I saw motion beneath the sheets. I saw her smile widely and kiss him and I saw her fingers dig into his chest. I stood there and I watched and I felt the husky walk next to me and nuzzle its head into my thigh and I felt as though I left my body. Without making a sound, I watched my body turn and leave the room, then the house.

“Today, I do,” I whispered.

There was static for a moment.

“Then I have an offer for you.”