There are people in the office responsible for blood. Takers. Testers. Cleaners. They man a phone line 37HELP. They take calls and say, “Everything is fine. Everything is okay.” They take calls and notes and run out with a sulfate slurry. Blood on floor. Blood-borne blood. Toilets plumb full of blood. Pathogens.
Devices ticking together and in opposite time.
One of us is always fielding calls from the media and saying into the telephone, “I can’t answer that.” He has said to me, in confidence, “Wake up in a hotel room with your finger pointed at Escort Services. Boys that’s rock bottom.” He has asked a few times if I know anyone looking to get married. Says it is the reason he has a hard time standing too long. Says he’s suing his friend but the Oxycontin helps the pain. Says the thing about his left leg is you could take a need and run it straight through and he wouldn’t know no difference. The older he gets the worse it is and feels.
Some say how bad would that be and can you believe that.
A considerable amount of time can be spent anticipating devices ticking together.Blood in the office is often referred to as bio.
A man in the office friend to the man always fielding calls from the media says, “You can’t make somebody love you if they don’t want to.” Says he moved from Miami for the seasons. Good time Texas. Good time Arkansas. Would not be caught dead in Texas. Says, “Oh no the coffee isn’t ready. Story of my life.” Puts back the empty pot and says, “Come on, come on, come on, come on, come on darling.”
Note left behind from a blood-taker having run out after taking a call: Tuesday AM vomit. Normal stool. Appetite. Tuesday PM no appetite. No BM. Blood in vomit. Hospital. Wednesday AM appetite. Bloody loose stool. 8:00 AM Metronidazole. Half food. 10:00 AM Sucralfate. 6:00 PM Sucralfate slurry. Half food. No bowel. 8:00 PM Metronidazole. Sleep in bed. 6:00 AM Metronidazole. Soft stool. Dark red mass. 6:00 Metronidazole. Half food. No stool. 8:00 Sucralfate slurry. Half food.
No. Believe me. There is a body inside me.
They say if you want to be happy you have to be honest.
I say if you want to be happy you have to be honest, too.
I have failed to qualify for hardship status.
I have been dismissed from jury duty having never bathed a child.
I had sex with a woman in the office with four children refers to the eighties as a lost decade.
I had sex with a woman in the office deaf in her right hear so I stayed to her left.
I had sex with a woman in the office used to be a sharp shooter in the military. This woman kept on her nightstand a pair of needle-nose pliers, juror badge, perfume, coin jar, makeup, dollar bill bound in fishing wire, sinkers. Said her ideal man would have a job to protect the President. Said her sister worked at the Allegheny General Hospital. Said she grew up around animals the better part of her life.
I tear half the office apart. I put my boot in the wall. I shoot holes in the ceiling. Punch through the paneling. I sit in the dark of the kitchen and do not turn on lights. The office watches from the doorway. We advance into night. The coffee maker glowing off its orange light. All of the office dark. All these teeth marks on these forks. No one is coming for me.
A man in the office says it gets hot like this and the black boys like to take off they shirts.
A woman in the office cannot believe there are two fried options in the cafeteria today.
This is a story about people in an office setting responsible for blood. Takers. Testers. Cleaners. They answer telephone calls mostly. They say everything is fine, everything is okay, and can you believe that. They take notes and notes and run out. Dialogue… “I grew up around animals the better part of my life [man].” “You can’t make someone love you if they don’t want to [man].” “Oh no the coffee isn’t ready. Story of my life [also man].” “I cannot believe there are two fried options in the cafeteria today. No. Believe me [woman].” Blood in the office is often referred to as bio.
Blood on floor. Blood-borne blood. Toilets plumb full of blood. Pathogens.
