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By shawna Date: 2002 Jun 07 Comment on this Work [[2002.06.07.11.54.29542]] |
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This is what I want you to see: the praline ice cream melting in the shopping cart. Forget the two young lovers who argue next to it. Think only of the ice cream. When it was fresh, diamonds of frost glistened on its surface and to touch it was to know it was solid, frozen, like Rico and Mona's relationship when it was new, but it quickly grew old in the room temperature climate of the shopping cart. It has become soft, losing that golden diamond sparkle. Now, the ice cream is almost ruined, but Rico and Mona forget to notice, instead arguing over which catsup is the better deal and whether they should splurge on fresh fruit this time. The rest of the cart is in the same state of disrepair, haphazardly strewn about by careless hands. A torn bag of bulk oats splits on impact and slowly leaves a dirty brown trail behind the cart as a memento to the old women looking for name-brand diapers in the next aisle who gaze sternly at the couple, remembering when they were young and shopping was meant for the woman alone. The half-melted Praline ice cream sloshes in its paper carton now, dripping lazily onto mushy piles of oatmeal. The old ladies spot the mess and stare disapprovingly as over the intercom, a store manager calls for a clean-up in aisle five. But things'll work out fine in the end. The ice cream will freeze again to nearly the same consistency, even if the pralines sink to the bottom, and the oatmeal can be replaced. It is only 59 cents a pound after all. Just nothing has ever seemed so real as this, and a love story never ended so poorly. |