Wanna read the latest from Clever Magazine?
Click here and return to the coverpage!

by Randall W. Pretzer
 

My name is Randall W. Pretzer. I recently got back into short story writing in 2006 and I have primarily just been a short story writer from then on. My favorite authors are my father, my brother, Knut Hamsun, John Fante, Charles Bukowski, Anne Bronte, Ray Bradbury and Richard Matheson. 

It was half past midnight. I was wide awake…..doing nothing….laying flat on my back in my bed….looking up at the ceiling….for no particular reason….can't remember what I was thinking about….then I heard a knock on my window. It had to have been either a burglar or someone who lived in this apartment. My friends and family would never walk up four flights of stairs to get to my apartment for at that time of night….no one could get in to see me unless they took the fire escape.

This was strange…..I will admit….no one had ever knocked on my window before…..ten years living in that apartment and on that same floor….no one. I had been alone since I moved to this town. Who would come to see me now at this hour? I had no friends who would or had ever done this.

I slowly got up out of bed….I was fully dressed except for my shoes and my socks luckily were quiet on that floor….the tile floor. I didn't walk straight towards the window but instead sort of scaled the wall to get to it in case the person had a gun and was ready to shoot me. My curtains and blinds were down. I quickly pulled the strings of the blind….pulled down the curtains….they came off the hinges and fell on the floor.

I glanced quickly towards the window and saw it was a new tenant…..what looked to be a young woman. I had seen her maybe once on my way to my apartment. I was coming up the stairs and she was going down. We didn't make eye contact. I wonder what it was about?

I unlocked the window….I didn't realize I had locked it and opened it up.

"Hello there…..I saw that you couldn't sleep….neither could I….thought we would have some tea or coffee if you had any…..if not I brought some….."

"You moved in here a few weeks ago right…..?"

"I checked the window below mine…and below….etc until I came to yours…..you were the only one awake and I sensed you were having trouble getting to bed as I was…..most people in this town I have noticed….go to bed early….sometimes 8 or 10 at the latest depending if it is the weekend…."

"I am off tomorrow…..but I hadn't planned on staying up this late….."

"You have plans I see….?"

"I have nothing tomorrow……I just found myself awake…..sort of neutral on the issue right now I guess…."

She laughed. I didn't know at which part of any of what I had just said but for some reason….I liked that she laughed…..at anything I said.

"I need some coffee…..but I brought tea in case you want that instead….I never assume anyone's preference…..my mom and dad before I was born….made a blanket that was both pink and blue in case their first child…..me….."

She smiled at that and looked down I think maybe in a little childish embarrassment but I couldn't tell….never was good at reading people's moods.

"….in case they had a boy or a girl….the blanket would be suitable for either…..I swear they had to have gotten that from an episode of that old TV show…what was it….oh……oh…..yes…All In The Family…..we watched it all the time…..my dad had the whole set on video before the DVD revolution and now he has it all on DVD…..anyway I remember there was an episode where the daughter and son in law had a baby on the way and the daughter made a blanket that was both blue and pink…..I saw the episode alone….and I just thought…..'that is where my parents got the idea…..'….I never did ask them…I don't know just never occurred to me"

"I'll take tea……"

I walked away from the window…..she came in and went straight to the kitchen. I got back into bed and just watched her. My kitchen was right five or six feet in front of my bed. I think….it was five feet or so…didn't know…didn't care. I watched her…..I got tired just watching her….even though I made a habit recently to run five miles a day.

"I brought a variety of tea…..what is your preference?"

"Vanilla…..four packs of sugar….one pack of sweet n low…..and two packs of cream……"

"Just how I like it too….but I am having coffee this morning….I'll get your tea started…."

I had to stop watching her or I was going to fall asleep. She was wearing me out. This woman moved like thunder and lightening. I think I needed to run 10 miles a day…..if 6 didn't kill me first….or this woman in my apartment… She came over and sat down at the foot of the bed….I looked up and she had the tea and coffee all ready started. She looked over at the window.

"It gets daylight earlier now…..I like the mornings when it is still dark…..6 am….even 7 am….on my way to work…..I don't know….just cozy….telling me the day has not started yet and I don't know….I find comfort in that…a grace period….transitional period…..preparation for work…"

"I like it to be dark too in the mornings…..for me it is today when I wake up…..no matter what time I went to bed and when I wake up it is always daylight and so it tells me the day has started….that is usually noon or 11 am….if it is my days off…I always sleep in…also for some reason….I like watching old sitcoms or reading when it is still dark out….either the mornings or the night….love it at dark during 6 pm….."

"I love the daylight to last during the day…..just hate daylight in the mornings…early mornings….I sometimes have to go out of town….and I leave around 5 or 6 pm and I hate driving out of town at night and with it being dark around 9 pm…..I usually get to my destination around 8 pm and there is still some light….scary driving out of town at night…..hardly any cars around….the road I take is quick but there is no one out there driving…..I hate the interstate….the main road…so I take the back roads…."

The tea and coffee were ready….the tea kettle whistled. She got up immediately. I had to look down again….wanted to stay up just a little bit more to drink the tea.

"Here you go……I hope you like it…."

She had brought the tea right under my face as I was looking down and I grabbed the cup gently. She smiled and sat back down at the foot of the bed. I took a sip of the tea. It was hot….and delicious. I watched her drink her coffee….it looked like she liked it black.

"Did you put any sugar in your coffee?"

"Oh no…..I like it just completely black….just the coffee itself…..more natural that way…..not as bad for you as when you put all the other stuff…."

"Is it flavored coffee….like the tea you brought?"

"No……just coffee…."

"Thank you for the tea….it's very good….."

"You're welcome…….thank you….I was worried…..I never really make tea….I drink it at restaurants or coffee houses if they have it or teahouses…..on occasion when I don't feel like going out….I will make tea….but I prefer coffee at home…..tea when I am out…"

"You like your tea flavored….this is good….."

"Thank you…..yes….I don't know why but I like my tea flavored and my coffee plain…..I guess it is sort of a contradiction…..I said I like my coffee just black for it is more natural that way….yet I like my tea flavored and well when they are both flavored…..the coffee and the tea…."

She laughed again….probably at the thought of confusing herself….I smiled…I was too sleepy to laugh….I also had a mouth of tea.

"I don't know….tea is like drinking boiling water if it is not flavored for me but coffee has a distinct taste….."

"It is much thicker……you definitely noticed it more…..flavored or not…..I just need taste….in my food….my drinks…..why I hate eating healthy….you live longer but you have no fun."

She laughed. I liked it when she laughed. It told me things were good between myself and someone else. This kind of thing never happened to me. Never. I didn't want it to end but knew things couldn't last forever. I continued to just listen.

"Do you know what time it is?" She asked. I got a little sad for when someone asked you what time it was during a conversation or when you were out with them it meant they were ready to go or had to get going depending. I grabbed my watch which was sitting on my dresser next to my bed.

"It is 6 a.m."

"Okay thanks…..I never wear a watch…..they are either too loose or too tight on my wrist….I have a small wrist….but an awkward one….I can't explain it but every watch I have had never fit just right….would just bother me all day and got tired of wasting money on watches….and besides I always lost things like that that you would wear or have to take off and put back on unless it was clothes….thank god I don't wear glasses…" We both laughed. I was so relieved she just thanked me for the time but didn't mention anything else. I knew it had to end but I was glad it didn't have to right now. I felt bad about letting her do all the talking but since I always did the talking in these situations I felt less guilty for I finally was in a conversation where I was not dominating. I continued to listen.

"How does your watch fit?"

"It fits fine…."

"That is good…..I am surprised I am able to find clothes that fit me…with such an awkward wrist…I figured all my body parts would be awkward but I guess it is just my wrist….I don't know…."

"I have this thing on my palms….a little bump on both…my dad never knew where or who I got it from…he said I could hang from trees with it…." We both laughed.

"Let me take a look at it…."

I held out both my wrists and she moved in closer to examine them. She grabbed my left palm and looked at it. She rubbed her finger on the bump and then let go of it. She moved back to where she was before.

"I have not ever seen that before…..that is pretty neat….I don't know….maybe a defect but nothing to worry about….."

"Yeah…we never worried about it….never thought about it as a defect but it may be….we just never could figure out who I got it from or where….it was bigger before….but got smaller."

"growing pains…." We both laughed.

"It is like my wrists….I have weird wrists….you have weird palms….kind of complimentary to each other…."

"Yeah…." We smiled.

I have no idea why I did what I did next but I got up from my bed, walked to where she was sitting and I kneeled down in front of her. I put my hands on her cheeks and came in closer. I kissed her softly. She didn't fight or hesitate but kissed me back to my shock. We stopped, I backed away a little and we both smiled at each other. We both stood up, took each others hands and walked over to the kitchen. We made some more coffee and tea. Didn't this only happen in the movies?

Home | Contributors to Clever Magazine | Writers' Guidelines 
The Editor's Page | Humor Archive | Acknowledgements | About Clever Magazine | Contact Us

© No portion of Clever Magazine may be copied or reprinted without express consent of the editor.