first installment?

The store was mostly empty, a few sad bags of dry beans and grains. The refrigerators were pale blue inside. All he had in his cart was a quart of milk, three cans of artichokes, a can of prunes, a gallon of water, and a stack of flimsy aluminum baking pans. He paid for these and went outside.

Textbook pre-storm weather. Trees flapping, dirt and crap flying in the air. Except a bit less. More like a damp wind. The sea was nearby. He wore a short yellow slicker over a blue sweater. He hunched his shoulders a little as he walked out to the car, jogging off the sidewalk. When he reached it, he didn’t look around, just got in and drove away.

As he crossed town, he took the coastal route

what happened to me last night

There was a man on the balcony. I watched him standing there. Feet shifting on the cement, flickering light from the tiki torches. Two feet, black shoes. The bedspread was damp from humidity. It was a hot night.

 

–You fly a lot, right? Cheky, you fly a lot?

 

I wiped my forehead with a crumpled paper towel I’d just blown my nose with. It smeared a little of the blood.