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San Diego Momma

San Diego Momma

Sharing some humor, a bit of writing and way too much information

Home / Etcetera / Sunrise, Sunset: A Re-Post

Sunrise, Sunset: A Re-Post

Etcetera

{{I know. Another re-post. It’s just that Christmas and work and events and Angry Birds. Also, I just love watching people and so character sketches will always have my heart. I hope you re-enjoy this one…}}

 

We sat near the back fence framed by hammered mirrors and garden spiders; she was on her 24th cigarette. She spoke with a thick tongue and sometimes indecipherable accent, but I knew she’d given something away years, most probably decades, ago. She’d come to America in 1999, from Russia, told fast money could be found in Los Angeles, a city only dreamed of, feared. No hooker her, at least not from what I could tell, but she spoke of six abortions with irreverence, or maybe scars. Turns out she would never produce that Tennessee Williams play in Moscow.

 

It’s been 10 years now. We talk of cancer parents, and a husband dead in the least physical sense of the word. He comes to our mirror place after putting the twins to bed, because he heard her call him “asshole” from the kitchen.

 

“Why do you smoke?” he asks from the porch swing. I see him outlined by dark. I don’t leave but I should.

 

“Because I want to die.” She blows smoke into the sky. I think I see a smirk.

 

“What did you say, Benia?” He doesn’t sound sad. Shouldn’t he sound sad? I know I should leave.

 

“I want to die.”

 

I make to move. He tells me to stop, gets up, and goes back to the kitchen.

 

“I need to go.” It’s hard for me to say because her heart hurts and I want to help. But I need to see my kids. It’s true.

 

She pours wine into my glass. “Don’t leave me.” And I remember earlier, maybe an hour before in the living room, her folk dancing to Fiddler on the Roof, and me thinking there can be happiness here.

 

A day later I daydream I didn’t leave and said to her, “Give him a chance,” and to him, “Listen.”

 

But in real life, there’s a mirror, her heart hurts, and I want to help.

 

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December 13, 2010 · 3 Comments

Sure I’d love to see you again

Previous Post: « A Charming Thanksgiving Tale
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Comments

  1. Stefanie says

    December 13, 2010 at 10:40 am

    You are such a wonderful writer. That is beautiful. In a heartbreaking way. Of course.

    Reply
  2. Ferd says

    December 13, 2010 at 8:04 pm

    The sentences all seem to have periods. Yet they are deliciously open-ended!
    And it’s interesting how quickly you give your characters definition, with just a few short phrases.
    I hope” IRL,” though, that you finish your thoughts! LOL

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Tweets that mention San Diego Momma » Blog Archive » Sunrise, Sunset: A Re-Post -- Topsy.com says:
    December 13, 2010 at 1:56 pm

    […] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Tim Sogeshirts -Dave, San Diego Momma. San Diego Momma said: Another character sketch: http://bit.ly/g2Npxw A re-post. It's just that PEOPLE! I love watching them and writing about them afterward. […]

    Reply

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