So I started working at the bank when I was 21. Several months later, they sent a kid from another branch to substitute for someone going on vacation. He was younger than me, and I didn’t fancy him, but he was handsome and personable. Turns out he’d started working for the bank a couple weeks after I did. He rocketed up the ladder and ended up a branch president five minutes after he earned his bachelor’s while I was still struggling to prove I was good enough to be a new accounts rep. He was sweet, and he had good taste in clothes. He had a pair of shoes that, on two occasions years apart, I complimented him on … and he wore them for the rest of that week.

Ah, the power I have over men. (The only power.)

I haven’t seen him since 2005, when I quit to work at the library. Like I said, I never had a crush on him, but every time I heard Sixpence None the Richer’s song “Kiss Me,” with its line You’ll wear those shoes, and I will wear that dress, it reminded me of him. The song was on my daily recommendations at my music streaming service, so I got curious. He wasn’t on the bank’s website as a branch manager, so I Googled him and found an obituary from 2022. He was 46.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Recipe #1: Nora Ephron's Chocolate Cream Pie

Image
Ooo, wow. Nora Ephron not only makes delicious movies, but she also makes delicious pies. This is the chocolate cream pie Amy Adams' character makes in the first fifteen minutes of Julie and Julia . I found this recipe and three others connected to the film on the Internet, so I think it's okay to share here. I haven't had any of the finished product yet. I put the chocolate custard into the pie crust, swooped a few pretty flourishes on the top, then mashed them down with a cover of plastic wrap. It's in the fridge to cool and congeal and will be ready for consumption in the morning. (I'll have a taste then, but I'm waiting until I have someone to eat it with before eating a whole piece.) But there were several spoons to lick after I'd finished cooking, and let me tell you ... WOW. The finished custard was a little bitter, like semi-sweet chocolate. But it'll be between a sweet graham cracker crust and whipped cream with sugar and vanilla mixed
Read more

I Can Haz Bukkit?

Image
So I've started a compost pile. I've read conflicting reports; I could be able to use it in a year or as soon a few weeks. Depends on how long it takes for everything to decompose. I've thrown some shredded bills and credit card offers in a one-gallon container with a lid along with some crushed eggshells, water, soil, a few stray Cheerios, and a banana peel. It's a rubbish way to start (pun intended), but it's all I've got at the moment because I did a thorough fridge cleaning last week. I'll need a larger container eventually -- something that can hold enough compost for my patio but is still small enough for me to lug around -- but that can wait for a few weeks at least. I do need to do some research before then so I know what kind of a bin to get (and what I can afford), but that's what Google is for: Image found here . I also planted Italian parsley seeds in four toilet paper rolls and set them outside. They're getting plenty of sun, and i
Read more

Stanley Unwin would call it "Improvvers the Domicilibode."

The friend I visit teach said something Tuesday night that made me say DUH in a big way: "If it's ugly and you can't do anything about it, then work on top of it so it looks like you did the ugly stuff on purpose." Why didn't I think of that years ago?! I've griped to everyone at one point or another about my kitchen. I live in a one-bedroom flat in SoCA, and I've been there for almost thirteen years. The kitchen is spacious and has lots of cabinet and drawer space, but the color combination is not one I would have chosen. The cabinets are ancient (the silverware drawer is falling apart) and varnished a dark-but-bright orangey-brown color. The counter tile, on the other hand, is a bright baby pink. It's like putting a bright pink sweater on a Weasley; you just cringe. The landlord, lovely man that he is, did a ton of plumbing, carpeting, and painting improvements to the flat a year ago, so I don't want to antagonize him by asking for new cabi
Read more