Page 34 - Sweet Embraceable You: Coffee-House Stories

22 Jack Fritscher

“In the universe. In the cosmos. In the constellations of stars.
It’s all magical.”
Ada busied herself with a pot of Mu tea.
Cassie rattled her costume bracelets across the old white-oak
table. Silence stretched between them. Once, when she was eleven
years old, Ada had connected a wire between two soup cans and
had given one to her best girlfriend. They had been barely able to
hear each other.
Cassiopeia stared vacantly at her fingers full of rings.
Ada switched on the 1932 Philco that Cameron had restored.
KFOG crept around the aspidistra and wandering jew plants, filling
the kitchen with guileless music. At least once an hour they played
an instrumental version of “I Left My Heart in San Francisco.”
“That station makes me feel like I’m in a dentist office,” Cas-
siopeia said.
“It calms me,” Ada said. “In the room,” she clung for balance
to her favorite line of poetry, “the women come and go, speaking...
speaking...”
Cassiopeia was not listening. She nervously twisted her rings.
“I think I’m leaving Frisco,” she said.
It grated on Ada. “Never call San Francisco ‘Frisco,’” she said.
“What’s the matter with you?”
“Nothing,” she said. “It’s all over here, unless you’re gay. I just
want to go away.”
“Then go.” Ada said it flat.
“You’ve never liked me.” Cassiopeia looked about to cry.
“I could cheerfully murder you,” Ada said. “Hand me your
cup. The tea’s ready.”
“I tried to leave before.”
“That was a happy day till you called us late that night.” Ada
poured the tea.
“Long distance.”
“Collect,” Ada said. “I accepted your call when Cameron

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