In Purgatory, Francine waits in line behind a white man wearing an old black suit and fedora hat. The man walks away with a pint of stout. Approaching the counter, Francine says to Lilith, "It's a bit early for that, isn't it?"
"Normally, but today's Bloomsday, remember?" Lilith says, disposing of the bottle the beer was poured from, with a clink emanating from the recycling bin.
"Oh, that's right. Are they out back reading Ulysses already?" Francine says, looking out the coffeehouse's back door to where some more people in early 20th-Century clothing are gathered.
"Of course. Now can I interest you in a cheese and mustard sandwich, or a cup of James Joyce's coffee?" Lilith says.
"Won't Mr. Joyce miss his coffee if I drink it?"
"He's dead, so he won't mind, though the chef always gets mad when I serve his salad to customers," Lilith says, filling up Francine's mug, which says "Politics is the art of controlling your environment" and has a Ralph Steadman drawing of Hunter S. Thompson on it.
As she hands the mug over and collects Francine's cash, she says, "I see the operation went well."
"Operation?"
"Your Siamese twin isn't attached to you."
"Oh, shove it."
"Where is your boyfriend anyway? Is the bloom off the rose of romance already?"
"It's quite fine, I'll have you know. We just don't spend every minute together, Lilith."
"Just every other minute, huh?"
"What about you? I saw Eve the other day and she told me that your businesses might be combining."
"Yes, I've always wanted to have a combination bookstore and coffeehouse so we're thinking of relocating her stock upstairs and turning it into a bookstore."
"But where are you going to live?"
"I was thinking of the philosophy section. You know, the whole 'an unexamined life is not worth living' thing?"
"Did James Joyce write that?"
"No, James Joyce did not write that."
"Seriously, where are you going to live? In the attic? You're filling your apartment with books and turning it into a bookstore, so you won't be able to live there anymore."
"If we do that, then I'll move in with Eve."
"Now who's got a Siamese twin? You'll be living and working with her."
"Good thing I like her, huh?'
A woman dressed like Molly Bloom comes in from the backyard.
Lilith says to "Molly", "Hello, Dear. A refill on the coffee?"
"Yes, I will, yes."
Blog Love Omega Glee is a novel by Wred Fright about two bloggers who fall in love while the world falls apart, which is being serialized on his blog. To start reading from the beginning or read another installment, please visit Blog Love Omega Glee Central on WredFright.Com. If you like what you've read, or you've read all of Blog Love Omega Glee and want more Fright, then please read his first novel, which is available in print and as an ebook.
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