The thing about Laura is that she’s always going somewhere. She comes up with these ideas mid-sentence and then we’re off just like that. She’s spontaneous that way, whereas I’m into planning everything, mainly because at my house nothing gets planned. So I plan every little detail like which side of the steps to walk on when I go upstairs to bed. I want to make sure I spend an equal amount of time on both sides of each step so that over time they wear evenly. It’s just a thing I do, you know, to even things out. I feel better when things even out.
So now it was just me and Laura at Valley Forge, walking through crowds of people across a hot asphalt road that was soft from the heat. When we got to Redoubt 3 we sat under a willow tree. I was drenched with sweat and it was running down my face like water, which, technically, it was. I could hardly breathe, but I was with Laura, so what did I care about breathing? I would have drunk my own piss to be with her.
After a while it got quiet and all we could hear were voices echoing from the picnic area. Then Laura looked at me and whispered, ‘Merk, don’t you want to kiss me?’
Excerpt from Laura Fedora. To read more or order, click here. Go ahead, take it to the beach.
Image used with permission of Blumen Publishing. Also, go to Robert Brancatelli. The Brancatelli Blog is a member of The Free Media Alliance, which promotes “alternatives to software, culture, and hardware monopolies.”
