Be My Guest / Spreading The Love / Day 5
The Mamas and The Papas - If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Your Ears - California Dreaming
“Now?” he shifted his weight, “Where? To what?”
“Now, yes,” she spoke with confidence. “I don’t care, put something on.”
“Honey, I don’t know if I’m up for this right now…do we have to?”
“No, we don’t,” she shrugged and turned to him, “but here are the conditions for turning me down for a dance: 1. you tell me why we aren’t going to dance right now and 2. you put music on that says how much you love me.”
“Deal.” He got up and moved toward the boxes he built that cradle their combined record collection. “Okay, condition number 1, here we go…” he said as he began scouring the vinyl from left to right, “do you remember the conversation we were having earlier, the one before I left for the bus this morning?”
“I do, yes. About work stuff?”
“Yes. Remember how I told you how I was going to stick to this company for awhile, and gain my management position, and make us some extra money… really persist and get us ahead a little bit… Do you remember that?”
He pulled a record out and put it back, “Good! So then you remember your response to me…”
“No, I don’t. What did I say?”
“Oh, you don’t? Just nevermind it then,” he waved behind him, “that’s not important.”
“Come on! Tell me, I honestly don’t remember.”
"No, no, no. It’s okay. Don’t worry."
"I’m sorry! Did I upset you? I didn’t mean anything by it…”
He turned back with a different record in his hand and smiled at her, “Whoa there! Look who’s worried about their footing now!”
“Please tell me,” she sighed, “what did I say to you?”
“Well, okay,” he pulled a record out of the sleeve and examined its surface, “you were arguing against my reasons for trying to stick to this job - like you always do. But this time, you spoke with absolute certainty: ‘You’ll never be able to do it,’ you said.”
“Oh god, honey. I’m sorry… I—”
“And I realized it in the few seconds I spent in that cool vintage elevator today… that you are completely right - I will never be able to do it. I don’t say that in the same way that I say I won’t dance. What I mean is that I won’t be able to live a life that I can already see: the lack of challenges, the confident bus card swipes, the walking, climbing, and elevator riding with heavy attention focused on a future that holds few surprises.”
“Well, maybe it’s not all that bad. I mean, don’t you think you can still surprise yourself?” she asked.
He smiled as he lowered the needle into the groove of the vinyl, “My love, I’d like to present to you: condition number 2…”
