when I lived in Toluca Lake
I was in a row of apartments
that were made for the writer’s
at Warner Bros, back in the day.
there was a woman in the next apartment
they had been trying to evict her for months
she was crazy
she always wore a baggy T-shirt and
baggy jeans that didn’t fit
her ass was always popping out of the
top of them
she would go into the dumpster
and eat the food that people threw out
she would break into other apartments
when they were at work
and plug an extension cord
through the window
to power things at her place
since they cut her power off
months before
she was nuts with her long greasy
dirty blonde hair
and her blackened rotten teeth
wandering the neighborhood looking
for anything that would make her day
better
but she never fucked with me or my stuff
for that, I was grateful
she would sometimes come out and bum
a smoke off me and talk about nonsensical things
then one day,
after my wife got into a huge argument
with the landlord out front,
we were shockingly served with
eviction papers of our own
this wasn’t the first time
my wife then left for some weekend away
with a guru
and left me to move out on my own
it was difficult and I was loading a truck
from morning until night
I was exhausted.
I was getting ready on the last night
to figure out how I would move the mattress
by myself
I stood there in the almost empty bedroom
my soul hiding from me in embarrassment
when I heard a voice from behind me
it was a woman’s voice
it said, “please don’t leave.”
I turned around and for a moment
had no idea who the beauty was.
in the doorway to the bedroom
was a stunning woman
with beautiful blonde hair
wearing a tight red dress that went
down to her ankles but had two slits
up each leg almost up to the waist
she had her arms up on the door frame
blocking my exit, as if I would actually run
once she spoke again, I knew who it was
the rotten teeth behind the painted red lips
gave her away
I was stunned
her body was amazing
her legs firm
her nipples were hard under the thin dress
no bra
“if you stay, you can have me,” she said
I told her I couldn’t
I attempted to show her out before I did
something stupid
she wouldn’t budge
I put my arms around her waist
pulled her close to me tightly
she wrapped her arms around my neck
I was able to turn her and we practically
danced like kids in jr. high while getting
her into the living room
she realized then that I wasn’t going to
take her
her eyes filled up with tears
her lower lip quivered
our eyes locked for some silent moments
she pulled a torn piece of paper from her
cleavage
put it in my hand
and ran out of the apartment
the screen door slamming loudly in the
quiet night
I unfolded the paper
it said: I love you
I often wonder what happens to someone
to make the snap
this chick at one point really had it
then something
then BOOM
I’m not a huge fan of red lipstick
not everyone can pull it off
not everyone should try it.
maybe,
without the lipstick
I may have stayed…
