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Written by Alice Ayres
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Monday, 04 August 2008 |
She put her arm around his waist
And grabbed on to his coat, tight
Gave me the Manhattan twice over….
Squinted eyes looking down her glasses,
Looking down her nose, right from my feet up to my face
And down again.
The eye balls move in a precise and
Meaningful way - meaning to say ‘And What?’
She pursed her lips and pointed them in my direction
Then said with a sudden flash of her teeth
Slowly, emphatically, perhaps so there would be no misunderstanding as to her meaning
“So, we meet again….”
Oh no, nah nah nah nah, this incongruent Brooklyn Flatbush heifer did not just try to get clever with me.
Because heifer, and clever are altogether very separate, alien and incompatible concepts - of this notion, she must be quite unaware.
Somebody has to let her know…I shall take that liberty.
I replied instantly no pauses, no blinks, no breaths
“We do indeed meet again Miss Trevor, and it is no pleasure of mine.”
The speed at which expressions can change has never been so remarkably swift in my eyes
She went from shock, surprise, offence, and injury and finally decided that was her only option was fury.
In that blink of an eye, her body did amazing things.
Eyes rolled, necks were rolled, cheap weaves were tossed, spit was swallowed, hard, shoulders stiffened, teeth were kissed, tongues were clicked.
In that moment he was nothing, insignificant, it was she and I
It was a question of honour, the sun was down and the guns were out, ready to blaze
In this war or words, this war of minds, this war for territory that I had long relinquished.
But I fear she had just taunted me into unwrapping a well packaged can of aaaaaaass whooping and that, well, thaat is an offer that I have never been able to resist.
After the remarkable spasms of necks and eyelids, she calmed,
And launched into a soliloquy which she must have thought would sound something like English…
“Oh heyal nawww I know you di’int just di‘spect myself n ma baaaaybay”
Zone out…….zone in.
Once without hesitation, with direct glare I replied
“Respect and self, my my, what do they put in the New York water. You cannot be so deluded as to think that YOU Miss Trevor might suffer, from the same syndrome I seem to suffer. Pride. Because pride is a little too much like self respect and self respect, Miss Trevor, well forgive me, the stripper heels, the Chinese press ons, the apple bottom booty biting hoochie mama knickerbockers you have on might have led me to the monumental misapprehension that you are entirely LACKING the remotest idea of what self respect is. So let me put it to you in a way that you might understand because monosyllabic, ebonified, grammarless speech seems to be all you can understand. ”
The corners of my mouth upturned and I smiled, a pitying smile and then I said it….
‘Get the hell on!’
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Alice Ayres |
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Last Updated ( Monday, 04 August 2008 )
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