Heptadecagon

Heptadecagon 

1

They were next to the fallen draperies. She rolled a dime across the floor and tapped out the count. “Even so, that’s not the only reason.”

“Well,” he said, “where else is there to go now?”

“What. Speak louder.”

“What’s left?”

“Don’t know,” then added, “they are too simple.” The dime toppled. She recorded the score. “Try to beat it. Here.”

2

They were in the basement. He examined the buttons in the jar. “Four deputy marshals were sent to corner them. One was informally processed by a judge. If that was illegal, he couldn’t seem to find out. It was in the past. Doolin escaped through the store’s storm shelter. There was another entryway in the back of it that was hidden by trash cans. He fled.”

“He didn’t kill any of them?”

“No.” 

“How did he escape?”

“On a Model T.” His elbow knocked the button jar over. “Did it sound like the truth?”

3

They were in the living room. He was on the piano. “C sharp C sharp C sharp C sharp du-duh-dum C sharp C sharp duh-duhhh duh dum dum C sharp C sharp. F natural.” He repeated the phrase.

“Does he know how to play?”

“He has a piano teacher.”

“How long was that for?”

“Not long. He isn’t very good. Every note is split off from the others.” He closed the sheet music and switched off the light then turned it back on. “Where did they get this?”

4

They were in the den. She was switching channels. “The question was what protein makes up human fingernails. Everybody rang in. Whoever gave the correct answer got 300.”

“Okay,” he said. They stayed on a channel for a moment. The coyote was nodding his head along the strings of the waterfall. The camera tracked the movement patiently. It ended the shot before it left as if the wild animal would never leave the spot.

She turned the volume up. “When they talk—”

5

They were next to the photograph. “It was also from a surgical error. The main cause was the burning.”

“The insurance didn’t cover it.”

He said, “To get a new tongue they have to manufacture it custom-made in South Korea.”

“Yeah.” She looked over at the picture and scratched the middle with her thumbnail. “She would’ve worn stockings in that one.”

6

They were in the hallway. He ran screaming into the room, knocking the Irish ballet dancer’s crown off from the force of the door slamming. He entered back smiling. “Was that good?”

“His feet pounded less on each step. You did the opposite.”

“I thought she didn’t notice those things.”

“She notices with her eyes.”

He said, “Notice with your eyes.” Then a pause. “What did she do right after he did that?”

She pointed her pinkie toe on the floor, pressing hard. “Can’t know.”

7

They were on the computer. She chewed on her lower lip on one side and smiled on the other. “Can’t he see it? When it’s very close. Can’t he?”

He pressed his face to the screen. “I can see the big faces they give there at the end.”

She pressed her face to the screen. “I genuinely don’t know what you mean.” Then she zoomed in on the pacifier.

8

They were in the bathroom. She was applying a razor to her left ankle. “She wants to get black corduroy pants for him.”

“Does he need new ones?”

“He doesn’t care what he wears.” 

He put down his toothbrush then wiped the mirror with a towel. “He’ll get her something nice.”

They both saw the single pink line drawn clear on the plastic.

9

They were by the treadmill. He was blowing on the clotted dust. “You could have gone with me.”

“That’s not the point they were at. He wasn’t petty about it. You’re playing it wrong. He was just mad that she never talked about it. You’re playing it wrong. Go again.”

Cleared his throat. “We could have gone.” He had to take a breath in. “And we still could. . . Yes?”

“That’s much better.”

“Really?”

“Much better.” She adjusted herself then spoke.

10

They were next to the calendar. She had picked up an album cover and didn’t drop it yet. “The work friends hated what she pinned to the wall. They had no relevance. See.”

He said, “And why did she?”

She had to think about this. “Maybe she didn’t know what she was doing, but that’s a disguise. Maybe she just wanted to have a laugh.” She cleared her throat. “Or she liked disorder.”

“How’d she get there after the car crash?” 

11

They were near the fridge. He was chopping mushrooms for half an hour. “He’s very precise with these. He’d imagine them being something powdery or fatty, then clicking them with the edge of the blade. Does it look like fun?”

“He looks relaxed.”

He got done with chopping them. He dragged them to the side of the counter then picked out another bunch. He said in a voice, “If I throw up, don’t sleep with me.” 

12

She was on the bed. She was receiving a migraine and was blindfolded by her sleeve. “She thought about him whenever the pain would come in. It was always the same. She would imagine him much younger.”

He called from the other room. “Should he have come in there?”

“No.”

13

He was hammering on the walls of the attic with his fist. A shard of glass had pierced his foot on the ground. “He never tried to reach for his phone. He didn’t want help. Maybe to hit the walls of the attic with him in unison. But not to help him or to get the bandages.”

She yelled from the garden, “She could have—”

“No.”

14

She was in the parking lot of her office. A heavy arm swept way around her collarbone while she unbuttoned herself. “Boom boom to the moon. Wondering about a certain tune. To those many who once told her. Heaven’s around the fool with no ears, and no face, but with only a head on a shoulder. Book boom to the moon.” She collapsed to the floor in unison . The other man along with.

15

He was at the pharmacy. “I heard a choir performer humming in the elevator this morning.” He shook his head yes. “She wore rings and wore regular clothes. All of the men there thought she looked like a prostitute.”

16

People walked in and out at slow speed, examining spreadsheets and scrolling through texts. Pink tongues came out of the room. CS476 had a small curvature to the right, and a small dot in the back. 

17

They both sat by the window. 

She said, “There. He’s trying not to use his peripherals. He wants to send a message. He thinks he’s cowardly.”

He said, “She’s walking away now. She’s not going to look back. . . Her body and movements are precise. She has on the perfect outfit, almost like armor. . . She’s not even slightly nervous or worried.”

She brushed her hair back. “No. All wrong.” 

“It was—”

“I know it—”

“Not seeing right, oh no,” and wiped the window with his sleeve only to see the same thing.

...

   W. carried a grocery basket full of assorted meat, corn, ice. Large lines broke off into different aisles and sections as he passed. The tornado was supposed to hit everything sometime the next day. None had nerves that their homes would be torn away though. Or maybe they did and I just don’t want to say it. Many would get by. When he walked down, looking at food, appliances he might need, his eyes always met his shoes. He pretended they were untied and that maybe he would be good at pantomime. Then he wondered about car batteries and what day he would die on. Then something about the endocrine system, and planetary orbits, and the broken chair at work. And he thought about basketball and times when he was sick. G. had a jacket on inside out from the puppy scratches. She was examining soup. Faces were all serious in this section. Aisle 1. Aisle 12. The boxes from the back were brought in after a while and people could see them lounging. Aisle 14. Aisle 8. Her cart had a misshapen wheel. It would squeak and turn the opposite way. She used a curling iron today. She applied her makeup liberally, as she usually did. Her teeth were clean. This got her thinking about a new toothbrush. W. saw the can fall out of her hand and smack the floor, making the chicken broth curl out of the aluminum can and seep into the sides of the floor squares. She didn’t pick it up and found her way out. G. called him the next day, tallying the rings.