Conglomerate Congestion

I am dating my husband; we sit as one for a high backed canvas butterfly chair, my left arm around his shoulders, he blushes madly within my caress. We request foil grill molasses and citrus tilapia, three fillets to share, our neighbor invited us for the opening of Sam's Silly. A strangely familiar woman crosses a single intuitive glance while we exchange nose to cheek cuddles; she approaches as I near his lips.

"Nice to see you again."

Her sincerity is pleasant fortune, I sneak a kiss for the tenderness behind his ear; a whisper of dreams gathers me into his arms, he brushes my steamed straight strands away from my right eye to acknowledge a moment of listening intently to a witnessing guest.

"I never did catch your name."

"Jill."

"This is my boyfriend Rolf."

"He's your husband."

"....."

"Nice to meet you."

"Hi."

"I need to chat with your wife."

Sam scoops his elbow, the kitchen regards a special dish; I watch every Puma black sneaker step to the double doored stove entry. I miss him terribly.

"My name is Ophelia."

"Thought it was Victoria."

"How did you know?"

"Everybody knows that."

"....."

"Remember when..."

"Yes."

"That lady I was with, they call her Marsha; you got that?"

Twenty-three people divulge this name, each instruct me to recollect cautiously; her name will be a trademark inside a hoax.

"....."

"Do you need a handkerchief?"

"....."

"Why you crying?"

"I just want to be alone with my husband."

"Sorry..."

"....."

"This is about Marsha."

"....."

"She's got a whole fucking crazy thing stuck in her brain."

"Okay."

"It's got something to do with a city named after a deaf blind gal with schools, jobs, and shops."

"Okay."

"She's going to treat you like a fucking doll..."

"Where will my husband be?"

"She doesn't care about that."

"What does she care about?"

"Sex."

"Is that what you do with her?"

"Sometimes."

"I'm not even hungry anymore."

"You don't mess with girls?"

"....."

"You straight?"

"I am with my husband; our bodies fit together."

"I guess that's why it's so god damn awkward."

"....."

"I ain't buying that though."

"This is not about man and woman; it's about us."

"Oh...she's going to make you screw some girls."

"I won't be there."

"?"

"I will come back later...."

"Good. I don't want you to go through all that; she said it's going inside your skull."

"....."

"Something about electromagnetic frequency or currents.....waves.....liquid.....fucking psycho."

"She will play it over and over again to manipulate brain patterns."

"Yeah it's like some kind of box or something."

My sorrow streams steady flowing tears onto my silk lap, I fear losing my husband, I glimpse the right side of my sloping half collar watching security send away a grey coat, the pebble composite earthen ground dampens; she digs through a hefty receptacle of make up, sentimental objects, writing utensils, ink bursts into her gathering palm handing me a cloth tissue, the color is purple. Rolf stands nearing her right listening inside a maroon oak wood booth.

"She wants to radio control a hallucinogenic version of me?"

"And some of the people you know; she picked them out of a picture line up."

"She wants to live inside an imaginary world?"

"Yeah..yeah that's just about it."

"She is not the only one?"

"A bunch of fat ugly bastards....."

"How many?"

"Too many to count."

"What of the main crew?"

"Twelve."

"....."

"She's going to make you think you went to jail and you got a criminal record. She's real upset about you not liking cats; she's going to try to get you to love those damned things, I don't care for them too much either, I'm fucking allergic. Some other shit about tacos, burgers, french fries, telephones, dropping out, drugs, failing stupid shit, dry cleaners, black guys, black gals, apartments, fighting some old people, snobby rich people, big stupid fucking trucks, stealing dumb shit, toys, bad people being your friends; she wants you to be real damn lonely. She goes to another world with that shit when she starts yapping. She's fucking sick; that's what everybody thinks. She's going to lose everything. She wants to start some kind of fucking business. She said a black cat's going to help her; she calls her Pantera....something like that..."

"What if she does all those things to Pantera?"

"She couldn't live with herself."

"What if I am Pantera?"

"She'll be even dumber."

"Where will you be?"

"I got colon cancer....I'm a going to kick the big ole' god damn bucket."

"....."

"So...what's it like being married?"

"....."

"She don't understand nothing. You got folks too?"

"....."

"She don't care about nothing but pretending."

"Will she stop?"

"Nope.....she's too fucking stupid."

"....."

"So you're Pantera?"

"Yeah."

"I ain't going to tell her shit; let her find out on her own. She wants to pretend like she's a hot shit tycoon and got all these people working for her and shit...I can't stand her ass! She gives good head though...heh..."

"What is that?"

"Nothing....she's just a bitch."

"....."

"She hates you for no damn good reason."

"....."

"She going to learn the hard way."

Innumerable people conclude the same sentence.

"I don't want to know her."

"You might need to so's she knows."

"What does she need to know?"

"That you're a cat and she was fucking mean to a cat."

Diego raises his left retracted paw for mine alike; we greet in this manner. He is calico orange, beige, and bluish grey, his tail is bobbed into a soft nob. Curling underneath the butterfly I feed him our fish plate for nibbles of calm fangs, he is in trouble for hissing at several church goers playing innocent for three bottles of chardonnay.

"Odin would like her."

"That's a Nordic snow demon."

"He is a husky shepherd."

"Oh...dogs hate her."

"He's different, there is another named Diavolo; Odin is with my father, Diavolo is with my friend."

"He's your real father?"

"Isn't that what you call men who contribute likeness?"

"Yeah...so he's got the same blood as you?"

"Yes."

"I get it. She won't; she's stupid."

"There is another one named Dominia but she's different. Sheba..."

"Those are cats."

"They are the size of Odin and Diavolo."

"Hhhmmm.....what about your husband? Does he like dogs?"

"His are Lilith and Mikasa..."

"He don't like dogs."

"What about you?"

"I got a cockatoo."

"....."

"He says fuck you a lot."

Bronze pillared cataclysmic cavern temple doom dawns sun bursting shadows; a man plainly clothed slabs decomposed crystallized plasma for bricked writing tablet blocks. Ambrosia smiles morbidly from a distance carrying lit candles into forever night. I adjust my cloak removing the hood from a stricken face; my expression is unwanted birth somewhere I am not.

"Crow Skull."

"....."

"They are born the same moment."

"....."

"Nobody wants them."

"....."

"What can we do?"

"The symbol here....."

"It represents revenge."

"There is a break in the circle."

"That is where they fall."

"What of us?"

"Do you see the winged bridge through the center?"

"It is very small."

"Yes..."

"Why do you call me Crow Skull?"

"Omen of Extermination."

"Show me how to disappear."

"I shall."

"What is yours?"

"Horus."

"Discernment."

"Yes but you must come back."

"Why?"

"To end suffering."

Zoomy and I hunt a forbidden city for jobs, three thousand and eighteen applications; we work twenty-nine positions, leave twenty-five without pay, four succeeded shelter with barely outdated markdown boxes of canned veggies. We spent a fair amount clothing ourselves for impression, I am cotton tweed pleated trousers and white silk blended short sleeve oxford. A woman scythes my left lapel tearing the strand into flaying panels; she is hurriedly walking to a shelter, she stops to sew me back together.

"Do you eat here often?"

"I wait until everyone is finished; would you like to share?"

"Sure....."

Our lunch consists of five soy patties, water based seasoned gravy, hydrolyzed carrot pudding, and three glasses of natural tea.

"You are looking for employment?"

"Yeah I will always be doing that I guess."

"I own the Chrysler building."

"Yeah we own a couple of things too; what does that mean anyways?"

"Nothing at all."

"How come we can't get by?"

"We are getting by."

"It hurts a lot."

"Yes it does."

"Where do you live?"

"In your backyard."

"Why don't you stay with us?"

"Your roommate smokes too much weed. I can smell it from where I sleep."

"Yeah I don't know why he does that."

"Do you trust him?"

"I am getting to know him."

"Hhhmmm....I rather be with nature and there is a canopy."

"You should come by and see us."

"What is your name?"

"They call me Sunny."

"They call me Mitsubishi."

"Successful Tripod of Growth."

"Yes.....I'm not so hungry anymore."

"Why not?"

"I was thinking about this woman I saw."

"What was she doing?"

"Flirting with cops."

"Did you catch her name?"

"She called herself Sharla."

"Did they believe her?"

"They weren't listening."

"I wonder what her name is....."

"Probably Marsha."

"What does that mean?"

"Child Molester."

"I'm going to research that name a little more."

"Please do....."

"Marshes are notorious bins of waste sewage and foul pollution."

"The name comes from mortal greed."

"Oh....what about the "a"?

"Suffix for enlightenment by femininity."

"Interesting. What does Sharla mean?"

"Giver of life through intimacy, sustainer of reality, absolute clarity.......also the name of a legendary Queen who roamed cemeteries looking for her husband. They say she carried a scythe and wore a black cloak."

"She must of been pissed off. Did she ever find him?"

"Yes...."

"Where?"

"Outside a marsh; he was burying their enemies."

"What was his name?"

"You will need to find that out; I wonder myself."

"I want you to have this."

"Cherry blossom earrings and pendant?"

"I bought it from a place going out of business."

"You carried it all this way?"

"I was looking for the right person."

"Oh.....you will find your husband."

"......"

"This too shall end."

Chester's ferocity is a double whim of men, often he is a companion, often an enemy, changing into an indescribable motivation; our next to last episode he informs me of a plot schemed by a historical enemy. He shows me a picture of a pretzel.

"Bavarian beer bread."

"Yeah....I knew you would get it."

"Shit.....what do I got to do now?"

"Work at some hell hole with me. I'm going to teach you how to make these things. Cool?"

"Why?"

"I'm going to leave the business in your name."

"Leave it for Katarzyna."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, that bitch wants me to fuck with you but I'm going to act Mexican."

"What does she want?"

"She wants us to be lesbians."

"Oh fuck's sake."

"If you bring up Catrixenya or the children we are supposed to be mean."

"Can you set it up to look like Roberto, Diaz, Paolo, Anahi, Uriel, and Mikel?"

"Make them all Mexican?"

"Yeah....."

"We are going to need one of Zen's ego slumps to help. I will add a few surprises."

"Pick Arther."

"Okay but take it easy on me."

"I'm going to make you cry."

"I'll get you for that."

Mighty leaves a letter addressed to "Marijuana Baby"; I gave it to Little Caesar after I kicked his ass literally with a motorcycle boot, number eight butt bruise, I mark the tally in my favorite damned alley.

Hey there little guy! I'm your Uncle Baxter but I had to go away for a while. I want you to be the best at everything but I got a hunch you will be the pizza guru in our family! You got to be sure and make a sweet rounded dip, easy on the stretch to gradually get it going, then give her a sweet dip and loop the ring! Your mom is the shit at spreading sauce and topping so you got to learn that from her but whatever you do don't learn how to press a cheesy from her, she makes the ugliest pizzas I ever saw but they taste really good! I miss you and I know you got mad blue eyes like snowy wolves, you won't always be alone, don't worry about that! I hope you look like her; she got a dark queen's face so that makes you the Princess! I hope they call you Amethyst. I punched your boss in the face six times so you won't have to; he kept me in jail after your mom and aunt bailed me out. Don't go there no matter what! I tease the police a lot, one of these days I'm sure I will get it for that; don't do that either! Anyways I just want you to know I love you; they don't say that but I know what it means. Peace to you Amethyst, I will see you soon. - Uncle Ghost Mouse