The Egg Said Nothing Read Online Free PDF

quarters.”

    She burst into laughter. “Like spare change? You collect people’s wishes? And you spend them on yourself?”

    “They’re not wishes,” I said. “They lose their symbolism once they hit corporate water. At that point they either become extra income for people who don’t need it, or they can help me get along in the world.”

    “I see,” she said. The idea didn’t seem to bother her, and for that I was thankful.

    “What are you going to do, now that you quit Pete’s?” I asked.

    “Pretty intimate with the diner, eh? Pete’s. I don’t know. I don’t really care. Maybe I’ll rob fountains.”

    “That’s certainly a way to go,” I said.

    We approached the Laundromat and paused to look at one another before we went in. It was as if this was a step of some significance, rather than just a way to pass the time.

    “After you,” Ashley said, holding the door open.

    “Thanks,” I said. I walked through the door and waited for her. Together, we walked over to the vending machines. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a fistful of change. She laughed and couldn’t stop. I started, too. Leaning into the machine, she slid down to the floor. I dropped down next to her.

    “That’s ridiculous,” she said.

    We sat there for a while, our knees touching. I stood up and pushed some quarters into the machine and received two bags of chips. Sitting back down, I handed one of the bags to her. I popped mine open.

    “You’re kind of cool,” she said.

    I was rather surprised, as that was the last impression I would have gotten from any time spent with myself. “I don’t think so,” I said, laughing at the idea.

    “Not in a traditional sense,” she said. “But, you know.”

    “No, I don’t,” I said. “But that’s okay.” I chomped down on a chip. The door opened, and a middle-aged woman walked in with a bag full of clothes. I looked over at Ashley, but she was staring into her chip bag, fishing around with a single finger.

    The woman hefted her clothes—already color-sorted—into the machine. She poured her detergent in, closed the lid and sat down. She reached into her bag and pulled out a magazine. I couldn’t see the cover.

    “I hate the whole chips,” Ashley said. I turned back to her.

    “You like the crumbs?” I stood and walked over to the second machine and deposited some coins, retrieving my Coke after it fell. I plopped down next to Ashley and cracked open the soda. The cold carbonization of the first sip felt good in my mouth.

    I leaned back and looked over at the middle-aged woman again. She was beginning to stand up. Her dark hair was limp and her face looked tired. She stepped up to the drink machine, put a few coins in and pressed a button. Nothing happened. She pressed it again. Still nothing.

    “Damn,” she said, and put her hands in her pockets, searching. I reached back into my pocket and pulled out a quarter.

    “Here,” I said. I held out the quarter. She smiled and took it. Ashley looked up.

    “Thanks,” the woman said. “You guys look nice together,” she said once she sat back down. “I can see that you really love one another.”

    Ashley smiled at her. She reached over and took my hand in hers. She raised it confidently and kissed it. My heart pounded in my chest as her moist lips pressed against my skin.

    “I sure hope so,” Ashley said.

~Chapter 6~

    In which the narrator gets lucky.

    “What are we doing?” Ashley asked, tossing her hair off her shoulder. The moistness of her hand felt good against my skin. My hand squeezed hers, doing its best to prevent her from pulling away. We walked down the empty sidewalk, junk food on our breath, stars above our heads. Going back the way we had come, there was no sense of finality. Wherever it was that we were going, we were still going, coasting along on energy already spent. Drifting came easily. I already felt as if I was in a dream.

    “Let’s go do nothing,” I suggested.