Saturday 17 March 2012

The Pretty Librarian

Once while at college I was getting a book out of the library; The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut, I handed it over to this pretty librarian who said something like 'Oh Kurt Vonnegut, he came here last year.'
I told her he was my idol, that if I could write a tenth as well as him I'd be happy.
That's what I said and it's true.
I asked her how many books I could take out.
Fifteen.
A few days later I am visiting this girl I met she wears White Musk and has this funny neck I haven't decided if I like or not. I'm trying to find this girl with the funny neck's room. I said I'd take her out to dinner but she's given me the wrong number or I took it down wrong. I wrote down room K212 but some guy Andrew had his name on the door to room K212. I have this terrible idea that Andrew might be the girl with the funny neck's boyfriend.
I knock anyway. Andrew isn't in.
I try the floor below. Nope, no one has heard of a girl called Emma, the girl with the funny neck I'm not sure I like or not.
Then I try upstairs.
Emma is in the doorway of room K312 she's putting on these big boots. Her friends are getting ready to go out. She says 'We're going to the pub, want to come?' I say 'Sure.'
Her neck is still funny.
It's really packed and I queue for hours at the bar. I'm bored queuing so I say for a joke to this girl who's in front of me; 'Perhaps in another life we were complete strangers.'
I'm always saying that.
And she says 'Perhaps in another life you could write one tenth as well as Kurt Vonnegut.'
It's the pretty librarian.
We talk about art and law. She did a degree in French, Japanese and business studies. She's a cradle Catholic. 
 At the end of the evening she gets on her bike and leaves me in a part of town I don't know.

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