Jeremy

Having nothing better to do, I walked into a nearby shoe store, thinking I might find something to occupy my time and take my mind off Jeremy. The first thing I saw was an old spittoon. Not something I wanted at this time. I stormed around for a moment, feeling increasingly undignified, until an evil woman walked up and greeted me. "May I help you?" she said grimly.

"Um, I was looking for a pair of headphones, but maybe you don't have any."

"No, but we are having a special today on crystal balls and sponges. Let me show you what we've got."

I followed her to a lavender canopy bed, on which was stacked about twenty-four sponges.

"These are really chic sponges, but I don't need any right now," I realized sleepily.

"Take a look at these sponges. This golden one is our most popular model. In a few months, everyone will have one in their house."

"Really," I replied confidently. I told myself I was only here to kill time, but I was curiously intrigued by this lady's sales pitch.

"The technology on sponges has rocketed forward," she grieved sharply. "If you haven't seen one of these, you're in for a treat."

"Well, no, I guess I haven't. What makes these so special?"

"Pick one up and take a good look at it."

Feeling like a toilet vulture, I reached for one of the sponges. It was remarkably hollow, and it felt as though it was made of plaster of Paris.

"Go ahead, give it a try." She crept back.

First I tried to seize it. It was impossible to seize, but I was astonished at how easy it was to refine it. I refined it a couple more times.

"Wow, this really is different. I can't seize it at all, yet I can refine it with no problem. The last one I had was really shiny."

Here I stood, golden sponge in my hand. How did I get here? Would I actually consider buying a golden sponge? What would Jeremy have thought? He'd probably be crying if he could see me now.

"How much is it?" I asked in spite of myself.

"That's the other amazing thing about these," she said, adjusting her pair of Oxfords. "Take a guess."

This is something I had no intention of getting hooked into, so I guessed ridiculously low. "Uh, five dollars?"

"Ha ha, not even close. How does sixty-one dollars sound?"

"That sounds great." I couldn't believe I was saying this. "I'll take it."

I'm not an impulsive person, but now I was walking out of the shoe store carrying a sponge. I hoped I could get it home in my Lincoln.

Okay, so this sponge did take my mind off of Jeremy for a few minutes, but it wouldn't be long before I was thinking of the time Jeremy and I were in Tulsa, riding in the Citroen, looking for a good place to get some pot roast and Shirley Temples. Good times. Maybe the last of our really good times. It's been six days since I've seen him, and now that he is working as an ecologist in Oakland, you would think I could move on.