Carol's Ex
We had never met Carol’s ex before. We were spending the afternoon on the stoop with our neighbors drinking gin and tonics talking about the best birthday cake ever and the weather and if the DH should be allowed in Cooperstown, when this old gray K car drives up. Carol was the woman who sold us the mobile home right before she died. She had cancer and was moving in with her daughter so’s she could be better taken care of. She died not long after and we hadn’t even thought about her for more than a year.
Out of this old dusty trap of a car comes a dusty old trap of a man. Greasy trousers, rumpled shirt with stains. What was left of his hair in a slick comb over and thick glasses whose lenses were held in place with tape. He shook. He left his dog in the car barking the whole time but I never saw it, I could only hear it.
He told us he used to date Carol. It didn’t sound like they had dated that much but who knows, people change as they get older I guess. He was looking for her daughter and wondered if we might know her name. Now Sweetie is usually pretty good about those sorts of things. Her brain has a way of keeping a file so it can get used again, I guess, but today the old man was out of luck. We chat for a while about the yard and death before he heads back to his car.
He’s almost in when he stops himself and shakes his way back to where we’re standing. “I used to have this aluminum can crusher, yellow plastic, that I lent Carol. Do you remember seeing anything like that when you moved in?” I didn’t really understand what he was talking about so I just said no. He was an odd little man and I thought it was time he moved on. He tried describing it better but it didn’t change my answer. He said he loved to watch TV and crush the cans at the same time. Said it could crush just about anything you put in it and he’s never found another one that worked as well.
We said our goodbyes and after he left, Sweetie said she knew what he was talking about. Said she had found it right after we had moved in and put it on the burn pile. She just didn’t have the heart to tell him I guess.
I hope that when I’m old and the boys all grown up and happy, when social security kicks in and sweetie and I have moved into the retirement years, I won’t spend it looking for a piece of yellow plastic. Life can be hard enough without having to nail a bleak ending on the end of it.
But then again, what do I know? Sure it’s not the holly grail but it is a quest and maybe that’s what keeps you living. Joseph of Arimathea sure has hell didn’t know how he was going to change the world when he took the grail. Maybe like Carol’s ex, he just was looking for something to hold a little wine and give him some comfort while watching TV in his old age.
Out of this old dusty trap of a car comes a dusty old trap of a man. Greasy trousers, rumpled shirt with stains. What was left of his hair in a slick comb over and thick glasses whose lenses were held in place with tape. He shook. He left his dog in the car barking the whole time but I never saw it, I could only hear it.
He told us he used to date Carol. It didn’t sound like they had dated that much but who knows, people change as they get older I guess. He was looking for her daughter and wondered if we might know her name. Now Sweetie is usually pretty good about those sorts of things. Her brain has a way of keeping a file so it can get used again, I guess, but today the old man was out of luck. We chat for a while about the yard and death before he heads back to his car.
He’s almost in when he stops himself and shakes his way back to where we’re standing. “I used to have this aluminum can crusher, yellow plastic, that I lent Carol. Do you remember seeing anything like that when you moved in?” I didn’t really understand what he was talking about so I just said no. He was an odd little man and I thought it was time he moved on. He tried describing it better but it didn’t change my answer. He said he loved to watch TV and crush the cans at the same time. Said it could crush just about anything you put in it and he’s never found another one that worked as well.
We said our goodbyes and after he left, Sweetie said she knew what he was talking about. Said she had found it right after we had moved in and put it on the burn pile. She just didn’t have the heart to tell him I guess.
I hope that when I’m old and the boys all grown up and happy, when social security kicks in and sweetie and I have moved into the retirement years, I won’t spend it looking for a piece of yellow plastic. Life can be hard enough without having to nail a bleak ending on the end of it.
But then again, what do I know? Sure it’s not the holly grail but it is a quest and maybe that’s what keeps you living. Joseph of Arimathea sure has hell didn’t know how he was going to change the world when he took the grail. Maybe like Carol’s ex, he just was looking for something to hold a little wine and give him some comfort while watching TV in his old age.
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