Page 32 of Her Sloth

She doesn’t answer. Instead, she wipes over her face, apparently crying again.

“What is it with you and all the crying?” I ask her in annoyance, because it makes me uncomfortable beyond.

“Just because you are on the emotional level of a rock doesn’t mean everyone else needs to be a cold-hearted bitch,” she says and I have to laugh.

“Fair point,” I say and sit onto my girl’s hood.

For a long time, we just sit there and stare into the night.

At some point, she leans back and lies down.

“I hate this city so much,” she says, staring into the sky.

“It’s nice when you keep away from the epicenter of suit shit show.”

She laughs. Her laugh is so…different. While Elise had this rich laughter, Addy’s is more subtle. It’s wild that I am here comparing them both, and I don’t even know why my mind does it.

“So that’s what you do?” she asks.

“Yeah,” I say. “My dad had this garage just around the corner. He owned this lot here. It’s our space, for the community.”

“What are you working on?” she asks and props herself up on her elbows to look at me.

“Everything,” I say.

She is slightly taken aback.

“What are you hiding?” she asks.

“Nothing, it’s just…hard to explain.”

“You have a garage; what’s hard to explain? You work on cars, don’t you? Those cars have model names, yes?”

I snigger. She is so grounded…so normal…so pragmatic.

“They do,” I say. “But one of them has a particular attitude.”

“Which one?”

“A 1972 Porsche,” I say hesitantly. Because that Porsche isn’t just any Porsche.

“What’s the matter with it? The overheating or the oil?”

I laugh, because she knows her craft.

“Everything. She has a bit of a temperament, just like the owner.”

Addy sits up and jumps off the hood, aiming to get in the car.

“Where are you going?” I ask.

“Back to my life of shit,” she says. “Now that I am still alive, I have suit asses to crawl into.”

“I’m not letting you go anywhere alone tonight,” I say and push myself off my girl’s hood. “Follow me.”

I get into the car, and we drive the six blocks to the garage and house. I turn into the driveway with her following me, and a mixed feeling of what the fuck am I doing here, and knowing it’s the right thing to do.

The entire yard is packed with cars; they’re all inside. The place where we all meet.