Saturday, April 19, 2008

E-town Observation

Or: A really bad excuse for going to meet the guy with whom you're having an affair.


Place: Henderson Center Laundromat
Date: April 14, 2008


The man with the ill-trimmed mustache is leaning against the washer and staring out the glass door. He smiles at everyone as they place their clothes in the machines beside him. A woman in a long puffy blue jacket walks through the door and his smile becomes a grin. She is wearing black tights with black athletic shoes underneath her jacket. I wonder where she works, as I can't imagine anyone would wear that combination by choice.

The man and woman seem delighted to see each other. They stand way too close together for people who are talking about the rain. Her nose is thin and pointed. She cocks her head, lifts her chin and looks into his eyes. He is gently fondling the faux fur collar of her jacket.

"I told my husband that I was going out to pick up a Eureka Reporter, and that I'd be right back."

They continue to look into each other's eyes for a very long time. It is obvious that she wants him to kiss her. He doesn't. He walks her to the door and watches her as she moves down the street. I look down at the chair beside me and see a stack of Reporters. She forgot to grab one.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

She probably told her husband they were "sold out." LMSAO!

Anonymous said...

I don't know WHY my name doesn't stick here sometimes. :(

Jane Doe

Anonymous said...

Good point Heraldo. She should have said she was picking up a NYT or SF Chronicle and they were sold out.

Jennifer McKenzie said...

LMAO!!!!!! A laundromat? Wow. I don't know the etiquette of adultery but isn't that....tacky?

Anonymous said...

In these busy times we all have to multi task. Getting your clothes and pipes cleaned at the same time is very efficient. :P

Carol said...

Great observation!

Anonymous said...

Back in the late sixties when the hippies started showing up, I worked for a fellow that also owned a laundromat. The housewives that did their laundry there didn't care much for the filthy hippies that would come in to do their laundry. They thought that they should have run of the place. One day a very indignant

Anonymous said...

...lady came stomping in the store where I worked and reported that there was a couple of damn hippies over in the Laundromat, and the mans pants was ripped in the front and you could see everything, and the girl wasn’t wearing any bra or panties. My boss told to just try to ignore them until they left, She went back over and came back like a wet hen. And proclaimed, “They are now the folding table doing “You know what“”. My boss told everyone to wait in the store and he would go deal with it. He was gone quite some time, them he came back with a smile on his face and said “they are gone”. I have no idea what happened when he went over there.

Kristabel said...

You didn't ask him, sweet anonymous?!

Tapperass said...

Talk about "An Affair to Forget".

-boy

headwrapper said...

OMG! That's some filthy hippies alright! But at least they had clean sheets. What makes things even worse nowadays is that ripped blue jeans are in style and you often can't tell a filthy hippie 'showing everything' from a respectable professional person. I see the time coming when our laundromats will all have a spanking bench installed next to the folding table. That's the way they do it in Amsterdam.

Anonymous said...

I saw a documentary on Denmark where they had coffee shops in laundromats. What a great idea.

Kristabel said...

I'd prefer a bar.

Anonymous said...

Even better! LMSAO!

Defiantmuse said...

for the record there's a bar/laundromat in my hometown (New Orleans). Definitely helps pass the time.