BOOKISH: Trouble in Paradise

Emily and Derek are in big trouble. They are in love.

I think.  All the signs are there, the embarrassment, the stammering, the dropped change, the needless tying and retying of scarves. I’m a little envious. New love is a beautiful thing. So is old love, which I have. But with old love all the unknowns are known. Or better be.

I sat at their table, watching the two of them fidget. We drank coffee from big, old, white mugs. Big, white mugs are in. Like our scarves, these identify us as writers. Of course it was thirty degrees outside, so maybe scarves only identify us as Northerners. I don’t know.

Derek left for a small group breakout, or one of those meetings they have in MFA’s, and Emily exhaled. Then she speared me with those wide-set, black eyes. “Derek,” she said. “Wrote me a poem.”

“That’s wonderful.”

“Put a cork in it. You know he’s no poet.”

“He’s a pretty good journalist.”

“I don’t know about that, either. But he’s a terrible poet. Listen to this. He said I have eyes like midnight stars.”

I thought about this, avoiding her eyes. That line didn’t sound too bad, and I told her so.

“But it’s ridiculous. The image breaks every rule we had in our poetry class. It’s maudlin. Impractical. And midnight is a random, unsupportable qualifier.” (You can tell she’s had a class.) “Eyes like midnight stars? Why not eyes like one a.m. stars?”

“There’s not much flow there.”

“Oh, be quiet. The point is, what do I say? They told us never to lie. But there’s nothing I can do with him but lie. Getting accepted into my MFA was the most exciting thing in the world. Now I’m miserable.”

Emily looked like she might cry. I didn’t want her to cry.

I tell you what, I said. Take that poem home with you. Pour a glass of Cabernet. Then look in the mirror and think of Derek. Think of what he sees. If that line still seems bad let me know. I’ll help you think of something that’s not too false. I’m good at that.

“You are full of hot air.”

Thank you, Emily. I’ll take that as a compliment. And I knew she wouldn’t be back. At night, in a darkening room, that line would have quite a different meaning for her, I was sure. As I say, all the signs are there.