The Writer Read Online Free PDF Page B

the
worse: my hair appeared longer, and I had a funny smell to
me.
    After visiting the
apartment, my parents were convinced that Joy was a modernized
Communist. Generally, artists were freeloaders, people who drank
too much, smoked, and pranced around naked. I had to promise that I
was not planning to get Joy’s named tattooed on my hidden cheeks,
nor change my name to Lover, before they would agree to drop the
matter temporarily.
    Joy found my parents
hysterical. Hysterical was definitely the right word describing my
mother these days. So, I tried to make the most out of it all, and
decided they should finally meet. I mean, we had been living
together for half a year and dating, kind of, for a year and half.
It was time.
    I dreaded the moment like
having my teeth pulled out, by hand, without any anaesthetic. That
said, it was not quite true. I had my first glass of red wine, with
Joy, that night. To my surprise, it went really well – Not the
evening, but the wine with the meal.
    I really could not believe
what I had been missing.
    “This wine really
complements this tomato sauce,” I said, astonished.
    Joy laughed.
    “I know…” she said. “I’ve
been trying to get you to taste it for ages now…”
    I had another long
swallow.
    “Mmm…” was all I managed
to say.
    My mother stared solidly
at Joy and me. I knew she was trying to turn my son into an
alcoholic! Evil Artist!
    I laughed loudly,
again.
    “Oh, Mom! You are SO
funny!” I exclaimed.
    “You’re drunk!” my mother
yelled out. “Look Roger, your son is Drunk!”
    Joy and I looked at each
other and started laughing even louder now.
    I drank some more, and
again, a little more. After a few glasses, here and there, now and
then, this evening became the most fun I had had in
ages!
    “Mother, Live, and Let
live!” I exclaimed, laughing. “Maybe I’ll do like Joy and get naked
in front of a bunch of mongrels and let them paint me all
over!”
    My mother’s eyes almost
popped out of her head. Her face turned beat red. She was the
funniest woman EVER!
    “I never did that” I heard
Joy say. “They did not paint on me.”
    I laughed and laughed.
This was going SO well! Why had I tried so hard for so long to keep
my Worlds separate? LIVE AND LET LIVE! Yes, Tomorrow, I would let
it all RIDE. Tomorrow was going to be a GREAT day!

Chapter 14
    I flushed, again. My face
rested against the cool ceramic tile of the toilet. I tried to
raise it, but felt my brain compressing intensely within my skull.
I think it was preparing itself to leak out through my ears. My
brain and everything else wanted out of me today.
    To make the matter worse,
Joy was prancing around the house, completely unaffected by last
night’s dinner party.
    What was that smell…
Eggs?
    Back into the toilet seat
I go.
    “Must you cook such rancid
foods?!” I screamed across the house.
    Joy’s head peaked from
around the corner. “Moderation is the key when it comes to Alcohol,
Benjamin.” She pulled her tongue out at me.
    “GAH!” I said, and at the
same time making my own head explode.
    “How long do
these…hangovers usually last, anyway?” I asked.
    “It’s not because I am an
Artiste that I over-drink. I feel insulted even that you would
suggest such a thing!”
    “You’re annoying,” was all
I could say, while I stretched out once more on the bathroom
floor.
    “It’ll last all day… You
not only drank too much wine, but you mixed your drinks... Which is
a big no-no.” she said.
    I felt like I was going to
die, a long and painful death at that.
    “I will never drink
again…” I muttered.
    Just when I thought my day
could not get any worse, the phone rang.
    “It’s your mother!” Joy
said happily.
    Great. Just
great.
    “Tell her I’m
busy…”
    “He’s busy lying over our
ceramic floor in the bathroom. Can he call you back?”
    Silence.
    “Hello? Hello? Are you
there?” Joy asked.
    Joy had managed to make my
mother faint. She had probably broken a hip by