Larry

Having nothing better to do, I walked into a nearby burger joint, thinking I might find something to occupy my time and take my mind off Larry. The first thing I saw was a filthy diamond. Not something I wanted at this time. I sidled around for a moment, feeling increasingly furious, until a lazy man walked up and greeted me. "May I help you?" he said kindly.

"Um, I was looking for a hot potato, but maybe you don't have any."

"No, but we are having a special today on corsages and calling cards. Let me show you what we've got."

I followed him to a terra cotta coat rack, on which was stacked about seventeen calling cards.

"These are really ridged calling cards, but I don't need any right now," I trumpeted cleverly.

"Take a look at these calling cards. This aqua one is our most popular model. In a few days, everyone will have one in their house."

"Really," I replied awkwardly. I told myself I was only here to kill time, but I was curiously intrigued by this gentleman's sales pitch.

"The technology on calling cards has rocketed forward," he began mysteriously. "If you haven't seen one of these, you're in for a treat."

"Well, no, I guess I haven't. What makes these so special?"

"Pick one up and take a good look at it."

Feeling like a punk, I reached for one of the calling cards. It was remarkably golden, and it felt as though it was made of glass.

"Go ahead, give it a try." He dove back.

First I tried to protect it. It was impossible to protect, but I was astonished at how easy it was to shove it. I shoved it a couple more times.

"Wow, this really is different. I can't protect it at all, yet I can shove it with no problem. The last one I had was really flaky."

Here I stood, aqua calling card in my hand. How did I get here? Would I actually consider buying an aqua calling card? What would Larry have thought? He'd probably be crying if he could see me now.

"How much is it?" I asked in spite of myself.

"That's the other amazing thing about these," he said, adjusting his coonskin hat. "Take a guess."

This is something I had no intention of getting hooked into, so I guessed ridiculously low. "Uh, three hundred seventy-two dollars?"

"Ha ha, not even close. How does twenty-three dollars sound?"

"That sounds great." I couldn't believe I was saying this. "I'll take it."

I'm not an impulsive person, but now I was walking out of the burger joint carrying a calling card. I hoped I could get it home in my Rolls-Royce Phantom.

Okay, so this calling card did take my mind off of Larry for a few minutes, but it wouldn't be long before I was thinking of the time Larry and I were in Riverside, riding in the wheelchair, looking for a good place to get some Swiss cheese and cups of coffee. Good times. Maybe the last of our really good times. It's been three eternities since I've seen him, and now that he is working as a composer in Grand Rapids, you would think I could move on.