You had just finished washing your car, and had just begun waxing when…
Yes. I heard “Honey.” Clear.
And you turned and no one was there.
And no one was there.
You’re not crazy.
Not crazy. No one calls me Honey like that.
You heard it in the shower too?
In the shower too. No one enters the shower with me but her.
And then there’s her photo…
No – the photo of me and her.
My mistake.
It’s okay. The only one with our faces cheek-to-cheek, like this.
Yes.
A photo in a frame the size of a quarter. Disappeared from its permanent place, right here on top of the antique stereo. I know what you’ll say.
That it’s simply been misplaced?
Yes, and no. I searched under every cushion, in every cabinet. Day after day.
And what does this say?
Say, would you like something to drink?
Oh, no thanks.
She collected jars. Jelly and jam jars. Pickle and olive jars. Scraped the labels off with a kitchen knife. And then scrubbed off the sticky stuff with a kitchen scrubber. And turned them each into glasses for drink.
That’s very practical. Did she entertain many guests?
No. I’ve kept all the jars and use them for drinking as she intended.
But the voice has stopped.
True.
And you’ve since found the picture?
No. That’s what I’m trying to tell you.
It says…
She’s telling me something.
Even though the voice has disappeared?
Voices don’t disappear. They dissolve. We posed cheek-to-cheek.
And you can still see the photo, inside of your head.
Clearly. Even after all these years. All I have left is Honey – in my head – like the picture you see, the memory. And the jars. There are too many of them to just disappear instantly. And though they come in different sizes and shapes, they’re each one of them transparent and generic, now that they’ve lost their labels. Can you see what I’m saying?
Clearly.
Her voice and our picture are gone. But I need these jar glasses because they lack clarity. I hold a jar glass in my hand, bring it to my lips, and it serves my needs, but someday it will be gone and I’ll drink from any other glass just the same. After all, a jam or jelly jar can easily be turned into something like a drinking glass.
I see.
Are you sure you won’t care for a drink?
TVC Writing & Art 