Oliver Benjamin
too loudly, “Whaz this, a loony bin?”
Roy’s lover, Leona, was not loony, but meditating. The syllables
she recited, long-ago transcribed by Indian priests, were said to be
the babytalk of the universe.
It was easy for Leona to ignore the old woman’s cagey stare and
ceaseless muttering. After sitting and listening to her own mind for
many years she believed she had mastered her moods to such a
degree that she could actually select one as easily as some selected
their daily coffee. With the aid of a floral oil rubbed on her skin,
Leona had effectively managed to set her pineal gland to whimsical,
yet full-bodied. Despite her training, she could not deal with what
came next: a pile of rat guts dumped into her lap. Agog, she began to
tilt towards nauseous and hystericaland then tumbled into
indignant and belligerent.
“That fucking cat!” she roared, throwing the rat at Sheba. It
landed at the feet of the homeless woman, who asked if she could
keep it. Bennie, the resident shaman and dishwasher, came out from
the kitchen to clean up the bloody mess.
“Dios mío,” he griped, “A perfectly good animal sacrifice, all to
waste.”
“Now, Bennie,” Roy waggled a finger at him, “You know how I
feel about animal sacrifices.”
Colin, a chubby young fellow who also lived on the premises,
shook his head. “No wonder this place got a ‘D’ from the health
department,” he indicated, pointing to the scarlet letter hanging from
the window. It was one of many reasons Undergrounds remained
resoundlingly unpatronized. “That cat is a savage beast,” Colin
declared.
“And what, may I ask, are you?” Roy asked.
“A civilized beast,” Colin suggested. “Speaking of which, Roy,
give me something to soothe my savage breast.”
Roy poured some scotch into his double latté. Colin raised his
glass to the light, which was pointlessly ritualistic since the cup was
opaque, and intoned: “Coffee, from the Arabic qahwa, meaning ‘that
which prevents sleep,’ and whiskey, from the Celtic uisgebeatha,
which means ‘the water of life.’”
“And together that means what?”
“Never sleep and never die.” He poured the hot drink down his
throat. “Smooth,” he choked. “Okay if I smoke in here, Roy?”
“Does anybody mind if Colin smokes?” Roy announced to the
7
 |
 |
 |
 |