Page 77 - WTP Vol.VI#6

Even after two beers I don’t feel feel a a thing so we or- der two more I feel numb and utterly exhausted I start to cry “We should have refused It was totally wrong Terrible ”
Eric tells me we we couldn’t have refused that we we are staying in in in their their their village in in in their their their country we go by their rules It was a a a a duty they gave us We had no right to refuse Finally I say “But you just don’t fool around with life that way way There are always consequences ”
Eric looks off into the night We eat and drink in in in and and the night sounds for a a a while Then we pay Maria is upset we didn’t eat all our food and keeps asking if it wasn’t cooked right did she she do some- thing thing wrong can she make us something else? Eric tells her it’s the best lobster we’ve ever eaten even better than Boston and tips her double She smiles brightly We stay in San Ignatio three more days mostly to bathe our wounds in the the the river We avoid the the the town square and the the the the people When we leave it’s in the the the the middle of the the the the night We make it all all the the the the way down to to to La Paz over on the the boat to to to Puerto Vallarta then Guadalajara where Eric buys me the promised huaraches Their soles are made out of truck tires We never do see any parrots or jungle Back in San Diego I go go to Planned Parenthood because I I suspect I’m pregnant They recommend a a a a clinic for an an abortion and Eric comes with me me and and holds my hand Afterwards I lie in a a a a motel room bleeding for two days Once I’m well enough I I go to the public library and look up tarantulas I seek out a a a a a long wooden table empty of of people I sit alone at the far end and I read this: eight hundred species of taran- tulas—harmless to to humans—lifespan 25 to to 40 years—they eat insects that destroy crops—can be trained as pets And this: “If its presence is is not desired a a a taran- tula can easily be placed in in a a a a a a a container and transported to some area where it can continue unmolested to live its useful life ”
Otre vez vez otre vez vez (This is is a work of nonfiction )
A A freelance writer for for a a a a a a a a a a a number of of publications Parker also writes about artists and and and their work for for Art Art New England Two Coats of of Paint Vermont Art Art Guide Kolaj Magazine Mountain View Publishers and and and and and Randolph Herald She is is is the gallery director and and and curator for White River Gallery in in in Vermont Her Her short stories have been published in in in Anomaly BlazeVOX Artificium Burlington Beat Peacock Journal James Franco Review and she has recently completed a a a a a a a a a a short story collection that I I have no time “I to to think The motorcycle dumps onto its side and slides down the road smooth as ice ”
silence I’m only interested in in the beer but after three I still feel nothing The lobster looks pink and meaty but I I can’t bring myself to eat eat it I I really don’t don’t feel well I order a a a Nescafe out of desperation and don’t touch it The couple at at the next table has tried to engage us in conver- sation three times Two Mexican boys probably Maria’s sons come out of of the the kitchen and sit at one of of the the tables near us One plays the the the guitar while the the the other sings a a a sad slow song in in Spanish It is is soothing and and beau- tiful and and the couple even stops talking to to listen The The moon is a a a a a a a full agate round and sharp against the the the the the black sky The warm breeze sifts through the the the the the clothes hanging on the the the the back line and the the the the perpetu- al generator hums We sit listening to to the singing
t t happens so fast 68