Page 31 - Sweet Embraceable You: Coffee-House Stories

Sweet Embraceable You 19

“My nose hurts,” Cassie said.
“I can see why,” Ada said. “Come in.”
Cassiopeia’s nose had been pierced with a gold ring, or, more
accurately, her left nostril had been.
Cassiopeia also had a Janis Joplin tattoo on her wrist and Bette
Midler tweezed eyebrows. Her body was a map of fads in and out.
“Why have you done that?” Ada asked.
“Makes me think twice about Kung Fu fighting,” Cassiopeia
said.
“It would be hell to have someone grab your nose in a catfight,”
Ada said.
“Worse than pierced ears, but I’m a nuclear pacifist now. No
fighting.” Cassiopeia swooped into the Victorian parlor. “Far out!”
she said.
“What a lovely saffron robe you’re wearing,” Ada said. “Sit
down, please. Have you joined that dervish group? What are they
called? The ones who shave their heads except for the ponytail and
play drums for the tourists down at the Powell and Market Street
cable-car turnaround?”
“Still the same old Ada,” Cassiopeia said. She pulled a joint
from her totebag.
“Still the same old Cassie.” Ada threw her a box of footlong
wooden fireplace matches.
Cassie toked up. “Where’s Cam?” she asked, her voice whistling
and high as she spoke on the inflowing blue air.
Ada settled back into a large wicker chair, one leg under the
other. “Cameron’s out,” she said.
“Just us girls then, huh?” Cassie said, hitting her joint again.
“Say,” she said, “does Cam still leave the toilet seat up?”
Ada knew they were off and running.
“Cam always used to leave the toilet seat up,” Cassie said. “More
than once with that man I crawled out of bed at night and plopped
my buns right down into the water.”

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