Expect Nothing from Bryan nor Grog

Eleanor was in the pantry. Grog was washing dishes. I was out back.

Besides me, none of us felt the tremor that slighly shook my cup of coffee, or admitted of it. And so I told myself then, ‘expect nothing and nothing will be expected of you.’

But the thought did not last the hour as I was expected at the ice cream parlor from which I was to have an informal meeting with one Mrs. Julie Z, who was a hairdresser at an upscale hair shop and whose fingers had a set of long nails, multicolored and scratchy, well attached. I was meeting with her to discuss my taxes, among other things.

At the parlor Z was already seated in the corner and was licking at an ice cream cone. An old shoe, heeled high, had been set upon the shoe rack by the door, which was also near to where she was, which was also near a window with an egg colored curtain that gave out through a foot long opening to a park.

I ordered a banana split.

“In short,” she began while she loosened something about her clothing and unbuttoned the top button of her blouse, blue, “I have not had quite enough sleep as of late to properly analyze your claim, however…” A long pause ensued in which she licked up more of the cone to the point that the cream was level with the cone. “I can say this,” she continued, blushing suddenly for no apparent reason. “I am, as you know, a widow, although as widows go, a good deal lonely. Oh, if you could only understand!” And with her hand that held the cone she managed to smooth her hair without getting any of the ice cream in the hair or spilling it all.

All the while she searched my eyes so often it was remarkable she could so succesfully transmit what seemed to be her thoughts into her speaking, and because of this I was able to while trying my best to decipher her meaning make out what exactly were the co!or of her eyes and also what her eyes said about her.

I will say this: the eyes were both pleading and a remarkable sea blue, that is to say a tranquil and yet quivering, jello-like, sea blue, and also white and red, the red shooting out like lightning around the edges.