It was dark,
because, you know, that’s what happens at night. Unless it’s summer,
and you’re in Alaska, then it’s night but not dark, and that’s a story
for another time by another someone. Not this someone. Someone else.
So the alley was dark too,
dark and eerie, like the type of dark and eerie from a cheesy detective
novel. You know, the dark, eerie, empty alley that you stand in
with that token steam rising in the back, feeling like you’re not
alone. Yeah, that’s the one. Of course the ground is wet, so the black
pavement seems even darker, and maybe you wonder if there’s a broken
electrical cord lying somewhere in a puddle you’re about to step in.
Because if you step just right, you’ll be electrocuted. But who would
do such a thing to you? Obviously you would have been set up…but why?
You’re not a detective or a spy, you’re just looking for your neighbor’s
cat. Damn thing…always escaping from the sweet, apple-pie-baking granny
downstairs. But what if she’s not that nice, elderly American lady you
thought she was? What if she’s really a spy? Then maybe you WERE set
up after all.
The smell of lasagna was in
the air...but how could it be lasagna? There's a Chinese restaurant
next door...the odds of the smell being lasagna would be very low.
Maybe the smell was actually 'little old lady's cat chow mein.' The
odds of that were higher.
Then, out of the shadows,
there she was. The snappiest dame I ever saw. Wearing that red
lipstick – you know, the kind that gleams and says “kiss me, then arrest
me.” Of course, I’m not a cop, but does that mean I shouldn’t kiss her
anyway? I guess if I can’t arrest her, then kissing her probably isn’t
a good idea either. I’d sure like to spank her, though. She stood
there in that white dress with the red pattern…some strange abstract
pattern like swirls and twirls of bright blood red, not the dark dried
blood red. Like the murdered body red. Not that red – more like the
freshly maimed flesh wound red. The one that is still vibrating with
life. She came closer, stepping into the light from overhead. Then I
realized it was an apron, with tomato on it. Maybe I had smelled
lasagna after all.
It occurred to me to ask her
if she’d seen my neighbor’s pussy, but I thought better of it.