The young man is in his early twenties. He has dirty blond hair. He’s talking to a young good looking woman. He has on a navy sweatshirt. He is talking about someone who made it in publishing. The young woman is impressed.
Anyone who gets a paying gig for writing means you have made it, she said.
One woman had a baby when I worked there, she said.
I want to look at her face but I feel shy. I like the feeling. It is playful for the moment, not dark.
I don’t know what happened, she said. Suicide. I’d know it if i heard it. She touched me.They are both. No he didn’t go to jail.
I don’t know what she is saying, not really. I’m missing words. They said the word high school for awhile. I liked hearing it come from their young mouths’.
I knew him, she said.
He was the nicest fucking guy, he said. You don’t know what I know about
electronics he said and they had a fist fight.
That is ridiculous, she said. I went with him.
The guy was dumped by his girlfriend he thinks he needs to see a good looking girl to build his self esteem. Apparently this is the girl. She has a small scrunched pretty face. He has an oafish handsome face.
She texted me recently, she said. I love lizzie. She worked for them a long time.
I know her from my friend Mathew, he said.
He has the side burns I had in my twenties.

I see her hulking shoulders across the street. She has on a
beige hat. I know her but I forget her name. She’s peculiar. She pretends she knows something about me I don’t. She crosses over and says, high Paulus.

Hey, I said.
What have you been up to, Anne said.
Nothing, I said.
I’m working for Artslandia, Anne said. Have you heard of it.
No, I said. It sounds familiar.
I write and edit, Anne said.
Anne has sticky silver make up on her eyelids.
Hey what’s you name, I said.
Anne, she said. I used to talk to you.
You’re the one who dates young men,I said. You think men your age don’t want to date you because they think you want a baby. I know you.
It was nice to see you, Anne said.

Anne finished her thoughts with shut the fuck up when I last talked to her.

K wants a baby. I said I don’t want one. Still she wants to see
me and it confuses her. She agreed to see me after she dumped me a few months ago  in Seattle this Monday. She wrote a story about a man and his wife and I think it is somewhat about me. I liked it.

I’m not scared of the American dream, a grey middle aged man said.