Kelly and I are sitting on a bench at night, under a fading street light. A group of guys, approaching us but still far away, are yelling, antagonistic and confident.
We hide behind a fence in case they cause any trouble. I stand in front of her, preparing to fight. The guys continue on down the sidewalk, and it’s likely they never saw us and were only having a laugh with each other. I’m upset at my automatic distrust of strangers.
An old farmer, who lives in the closest house, startles us as he approaches from behind and asks what we’re doing in his yard. We notice our friends further down and tell him we’re meeting them. Joanna is there and mentions she’s moving home for awhile. Kelly tells Rhiannon her outfit is amazing and that she is the only one who could pull it off. Sara is wearing navy blue, matching the fence and lights. She wishes the background of the world always changed to match how you look and feel.
A cow, dressed like a Swiss milkmaid, advances toward us. It’s almost morning and we’re in her field, and she wants it back.
We sneak out through CBGT’s and run into Rajiv outside. It’s his birthday and he’s eating a late night feed. He’s being followed around by an old Indian tailor, hired as a gift from one of his friends, who wanted his new suit to incorporate the way his body changes during a night out.
Rajiv places an octopus on a stranger’s head, then on mine. He insinuates that having octopus juice all over me is worth it for the story. I agree.
