Sparrows Dance Page #4

What was his deal?

He was from East Orange,

New Jersey.

He had really long eyelashes,

nice hands.

I took pictures of him

on the basketball court

and by the time I developed the pictures,

we were pretty serious.

I went out with him

for two summers.

We were

the youngest lovers.

He was really sweet.

He only listened to the Beach Boys,

Pet Sounds.

And on rainy days,

he used to offer me his jacket

and we'd go walking.

Big deal.

I used to just

kiss right away.

Just stick my tongue in

right away.

I'd open my mouth,

hands deep in my pockets.

I'd close my eyes

and kind of go to sleep,

like I was in a cave.

Back then,

I hated to be alone.

Room tone, frequency,

that's all I used to hear

when I was alone.

And I got used to it,

it wasn't so bad.

No surprises,

pretty much all I wanted then is forgotten now.

Whatever happened

to Eddie?

After college I saw him once at a random party.

He was strange,

and I was obsessed with a plan.

What kind of plan?

Ambition...

I don't remember

the details.

Some kind of slow panic

about proving myself.

Walking down the street

was always difficult for me,

it's a sensory overload.

But somehow I thought

I could transcend it all

through sheer force of will.

And it worked

for a little while.

How is he strange?

Who?

Eddie.

Well...

You know, I gotta say,

I don't like

this Eddie kid.

You're jealous

of Eddie Radley?

Yeah.

You should be.

Oh, sh*t.

No, you didn't.

No, no, no,

no. No, no, no, no.

No, no, no, no, no.

Oh, you're ticklish.

No, no. God, stop.

Don't do that.

No.

F***er.

Hey.

Hmm?

It's 9:
00, do you

have to get up?

Not ready to get up.

When's your first job?

11:
00, in South Harlem.

Do you want

some breakfast?

Yes.

Eggs?

Yes.

Scrambled?

Yes, ma'am.

Would you like some

orange juice with that?

Yes.

Look what I got.

Serving it up.

I'll call.

All right, so how many

cards do you want?

Mmm.

Come on, come on.

One.

One? Only one.

Oh, she's going

for a straight.

Oh, God.

I'll take...

You will take two.

Uno, dos.

Now.

You bet again based

on how good you did.

And if you got...

You got that straight that you were going for,

then you would bet a lot or if you want to bluff me,

you can bet a lot,

it's totally up to you.

But if you lose,

you're gonna really have to pay me.

I started getting stage fright,

that's how it started.

I'd go out on stage

and I wasn't quite right.

There was people

out there in the seats.

They had actually paid money to watch me in the play

and I couldn't give them

what I knew they wanted.

So I'd go out there onstage and

I'd just go through the motions.

And then I started to think,

"Well, they must hate me,

Then one night,

I couldn't bring myself to go out there at all.

I was shaking so bad,

and the stage manager was grabbing my arm.

So I slapped her

in the face and ran out.

And the next day I fired my agent and quit the business.

What about before?

Before all that.

Don't you miss that?

Just acting?

I miss some things but I don't miss a lot of it.

No, seriously,

you are better than that.

Yeah!

That was a good song.

Mmm-hmm.

Yeah!

That was the reed's fault,

that wasn't yours. Yeah.

Mmm-hmm.

Oh, brother.

Yeah?

The Vanguard gig

starts tomorrow night.

I know.

I'm nervous as hell,

to tell you the truth.

But, like...

Not like the last time.

I think it's weird.

Well, you got the gig, so,

someone likes how you sound.

You're gonna do fine.

Go to sleep,

get some rest.

What's the name

of that play

you got such bad

stage fright?

Is it the one about the morgues in the north?

What difference

does it make?

Mmm-hmm.

Can I just ask you

one more question?

What were you doing

in Japan?

My acting teacher

took me there

to study Noh theater.

I don't understand.

Noh theater?

Yeah. N-O-H.

It's all about masks.

I'm sorry you're nervous

about tomorrow night.

I really do think if you get some rest you'll feel better.

And I'm not just

saying that selfishly.

I'll try.

I'm not tired at all,

but I'll try.

I trust your advises.

Are you nervous at all?

About what?

Tomorrow night?

Why would I be nervous?

Best effort.

Come with me to the gig.

You're gonna make

your best effort, remember?

Yeah, I remember.

Go to sleep.

You take promises

seriously, don't you?

You're not flip about that,

aren't you?

Yeah. I take them

seriously but...

It's not gonna

be that way.

I'm not gonna make it,

you know that, right?

Hot and cold person.

You got something

to say?

Forget it.

I'll try.

You'll try.

This night won't

be that way, right?

You know.

Okay.

Okay.

Right smack in the depth of your soul

You'll find a core

The purity of which

is begging

To start you

from the front

Bang, the gun goes off

The run is weak

and you barely left your seat

Meanwhile

these iniquities are...

Hi.

What are you up to?

Getting ready to

take a bath.

Come to your window

for a sec.

What for?

I'm grooving high.

Ta-da!

Do you recognize me?

I'm like a new man.

There's only one thing missing from my ensemble.

Can you tell?

Um... I don't know.

A corsage?

What?

I mean you.

Come on, Wes,

don't do this.

We already

went over this,

it's not gonna be that way.

I know we did

already go over it, but...

That was all theoretical.

I was hoping you would

put all kidding aside

and come down and let's go over to the Vanguard.

Come with me

to the gig, my dear.

Why are you pressuring me?

I can't let you stay up there,

locked away in your room.

I wish you would

leave me alone.

You don't need

me with you.

But I love you.

I think you're amazing.

I walk around this city all day

and I just can't believe my luck.

Well, that's very nice.

Oh, I found them

Oklahoma sci-fi books.

He was writing under the name Johnny Stranger.

It's called The Alien In The Corner,

you know that one?

Yeah, yes.

So you know him.

Don't get stuck in

a corner, it's a trick.

You think you can

see everything coming.

That you got the whole game all figured out

but while you're

watching everyone else,

there's something strange

inside you, sneaking up,

that you didn't

even see at all.

I'm gonna go now, Wes.

I'm gonna stand in front of your apartment...

For the next 30 minutes.

If you don't come down...

Then I'll just go,

I won't bug you anymore.

I have to be at my gig in an hour,

so that's all the time I got.

Break a leg.

You too.

Somebody's in love

with somebody

Somebody's in love

with somebody

Somebody's in love

with somebody

I know

Somebody's in love

with somebody

Somebody's in love

with somebody

Somebody's in love

with somebody

I know

John's in love

Joan's in love

Jim's in love

I don't care

You're the only girl

She's the one I loved

She's the girl

I'm thinking of

Joan and I had a quarrel

She said, "This is the end."

I said,

"Just a minute, baby,"

"Won't you

take me back again?"

John's in love

Joan's in love

Jim's in love

I don't care

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