for the love of F Scott Fitzgerald
Aug 7, 2023 22:45:11 GMT -5
Post by themirrorthief on Aug 7, 2023 22:45:11 GMT -5
It was a perfectly beautiful day. The sun was golden and the sky a flawless blue. Eddie walked home
from work with his head down, hardly noticing. It had been another difficult day. He barely noticed the
gorgeous day. He was a troubled soul...and lonely. As usual he took a shortcut through the park just
as he did everyday walking home from his job. He was getting a bit warm, he loosened his tie and stooped
for a sip of water at the little fountain. It was then that the joys of mother nature commenced to penetrate
his being slowly but surely. He stepped beneath a shady oak and lit a cigarette. It was much cooler in
the deep shade and he tarried. Just a few feet away a very pretty girl sat on a park bench. She looked up
and smiled. He smiled back. She returned to her book. "Nice day?" He offered.
"Very nice," she replied as she pushed back a blond curl that had intruded onto her face.
Eddie was not the kind to hit on strange girls in the park but on this particular day he felt like he didn't
have a lot to lose. Typically he was a little shy...this hadn't garnered him a lot of success with the female
of the species.
"What are you reading, it must be very interesting?"
The girl shrugged, "oh its required for class. Its by F Scott Fitzgerald. Have you heard of him."
"Yes, he's quite famous. I read several of his works...I read a lot."
"I'm having a tough time with it. Twilight is more my type of reading. I love Nicolas Sparks too."
The girl tried to twist her body around so that she could better face Eddie. In the process she dropped
the book. The young man moved quickily to the rescue. He snatched the book up off the ground
in a New York minute. He brushed away some twigs and a bit of leaf. The he solemnly handed
the volume back. She reached out and her hand was very pale and soft looking. He approved
very much.
"I'm so clumsy. I drop stuff all the time...I'm a holy terror on cell phones." her voiced was as soft
as her hands. Eddie massaged his chin, wondering what to do next. He wished he'd shaved that
morning. Maybe she was one of those girls that liked the unshaved look. He didn't know much about
trends. Nervously he put out his cigarette and took his glasses off, pretending to clean them.
"I wear contacts" the girl said. "I guess I'm a little old fashioned," Eddie replied. "I tried those things
but they seemed a lot of trouble, guess I'm pretty lazy."
Eddie had an idea, he sat down on one end of the bench and wiped his glasses on his pants leg.
"This material seems to get the fingerprints off a little better."
The sighed and put the book aside. "I just can't get this Fitzgerald guy, I went to the movie with
Leonardo DeCaprio and I didn't like it...kinda weird."
"The classics can be a bit dense sometimes. I like Fitzgerald though." Eddie said. "He died
really young, he was a hard drinker and he had a very stressful marriage. I think his writing
is beautiful. It's mostly about life in the twenties and thirties. He does a great job of painting
a portrait of the past for his readers."
The girl stared at him intensely, "you must be really smart, I don't hear guys talk like that much,
especially young guys...are you a teacher?"
"No, I have a really crappy job in the office at the hospital. I keep up with accounts and hassle
poor broke souls about paying their bill...I really hate it but I'm to cowardly to try something
else. We build our on prisons you know."
"Well, I just started college. I barely made it through the first semester and I'm having an even
harder time now."
"Maybe you just need a tutor?"
"I had one but he was so creepy I stopped showing up for our scheduled appointments. I could
tell he thought I was a complete moron. I hate people like that."
Eddie nodded and fished out another cigarette. "Do you mind if I smoke...I want to quit but can't."
"Oh that's OK," the girl said...I smoke too!"
They sat and smoked and the conversation lagged a bit. "Hey, can get you something to drink?
It's pretty warm out here..It will only take a second, there is a mapco half a block from here...my
treat?"
She nodded. Eddie hurried away and returned with two cokes. They sipped and smoked, he told
a couple of lame jokes and she laughed. He was almost beginning to believe she actually liked him
a little. He wasn't usaually this glib or engaging. For some strange reason he felt relaxed as could be
and in the flow in a manner of speaking. They talked a little more about her book. It was an anthology
of short works. Eddie made some points about two or three of the stories as the girl stared into his
eyes very intently. "I totally don't get this story called the Ice Palace," the girl said with a puzzled
expression on her face and her cute nose crinkled up in a most appealing way. "Why is she so obsessed
with death and the graveyard and Margie Lee. And what the heck actually happened while she was
lost in the Ice Palace, it made no sense to me...did she hit her head or something?"
Eddie was more than glad to attempt answers, "I guess the story is a lot deeper than it seems at
first. I think the girl in the story saw the graveyard as her link to something bigger than herself.
She felt a strong tie to the past. The past was somehow very important to the people of that little
southern town. It gave them a sense of roots and belonging. I think they were proud of the ones
that came before them. As to what happened in the icehouse, I suppose that is sorta let up to
the indiviual reader to interpret. Fitzgerald injected a lot of mythology and fantasy into his stories.
The incident in the Icehouse was sort of a waking nightmare for the southern girl. The ice probably
represented the cold that she felt from the strangers she was living among. Or something like that."
Zelda nodded, "Yes, I see what you mean, I like the way you explain things so clearly...it seems so
simple now, in a way...thank you so much!"
"I wish you were my tutor, you are a lot smarter than my old one and much easier
to talk to." Eddie blushed and looked away. He drained the last of his coke. He noticed the sun was
getting rather low. "You must live near here? Or did you drive?" She said she walked over, it was a
fairly long distance. "I use my brother's car sometimes but I walk a lot too...I guess I best be getting on
home. I've kept you long enough. At least now I will have some idea of what the teacher is talking about
Monday." She gave him the most awesome smile...all white teeth and full red lips. He wiped his hands
nervously on his pants. The he took her hand and helped her get up. Impulsively he pulled her closer and
put a light kiss on her lips. His heart pounded and he half expected to be slapped. The slap never came,
only another smile and a soft chuckle. She put something in his hand and turned to walk away quickly.
She looke back over her shoulder and waved. He waved back and looked in his hand to find a scrap of
paper with the name Zelda and a phone number. He watched the figure of the girl fade into the distance
and he pushed the scrap deep into his pocket. Finally, he lit another cigarette and shuffled slowy away.
"What a perfectly great day this has been," he mused. He did a little dance move and continued towards home.
from work with his head down, hardly noticing. It had been another difficult day. He barely noticed the
gorgeous day. He was a troubled soul...and lonely. As usual he took a shortcut through the park just
as he did everyday walking home from his job. He was getting a bit warm, he loosened his tie and stooped
for a sip of water at the little fountain. It was then that the joys of mother nature commenced to penetrate
his being slowly but surely. He stepped beneath a shady oak and lit a cigarette. It was much cooler in
the deep shade and he tarried. Just a few feet away a very pretty girl sat on a park bench. She looked up
and smiled. He smiled back. She returned to her book. "Nice day?" He offered.
"Very nice," she replied as she pushed back a blond curl that had intruded onto her face.
Eddie was not the kind to hit on strange girls in the park but on this particular day he felt like he didn't
have a lot to lose. Typically he was a little shy...this hadn't garnered him a lot of success with the female
of the species.
"What are you reading, it must be very interesting?"
The girl shrugged, "oh its required for class. Its by F Scott Fitzgerald. Have you heard of him."
"Yes, he's quite famous. I read several of his works...I read a lot."
"I'm having a tough time with it. Twilight is more my type of reading. I love Nicolas Sparks too."
The girl tried to twist her body around so that she could better face Eddie. In the process she dropped
the book. The young man moved quickily to the rescue. He snatched the book up off the ground
in a New York minute. He brushed away some twigs and a bit of leaf. The he solemnly handed
the volume back. She reached out and her hand was very pale and soft looking. He approved
very much.
"I'm so clumsy. I drop stuff all the time...I'm a holy terror on cell phones." her voiced was as soft
as her hands. Eddie massaged his chin, wondering what to do next. He wished he'd shaved that
morning. Maybe she was one of those girls that liked the unshaved look. He didn't know much about
trends. Nervously he put out his cigarette and took his glasses off, pretending to clean them.
"I wear contacts" the girl said. "I guess I'm a little old fashioned," Eddie replied. "I tried those things
but they seemed a lot of trouble, guess I'm pretty lazy."
Eddie had an idea, he sat down on one end of the bench and wiped his glasses on his pants leg.
"This material seems to get the fingerprints off a little better."
The sighed and put the book aside. "I just can't get this Fitzgerald guy, I went to the movie with
Leonardo DeCaprio and I didn't like it...kinda weird."
"The classics can be a bit dense sometimes. I like Fitzgerald though." Eddie said. "He died
really young, he was a hard drinker and he had a very stressful marriage. I think his writing
is beautiful. It's mostly about life in the twenties and thirties. He does a great job of painting
a portrait of the past for his readers."
The girl stared at him intensely, "you must be really smart, I don't hear guys talk like that much,
especially young guys...are you a teacher?"
"No, I have a really crappy job in the office at the hospital. I keep up with accounts and hassle
poor broke souls about paying their bill...I really hate it but I'm to cowardly to try something
else. We build our on prisons you know."
"Well, I just started college. I barely made it through the first semester and I'm having an even
harder time now."
"Maybe you just need a tutor?"
"I had one but he was so creepy I stopped showing up for our scheduled appointments. I could
tell he thought I was a complete moron. I hate people like that."
Eddie nodded and fished out another cigarette. "Do you mind if I smoke...I want to quit but can't."
"Oh that's OK," the girl said...I smoke too!"
They sat and smoked and the conversation lagged a bit. "Hey, can get you something to drink?
It's pretty warm out here..It will only take a second, there is a mapco half a block from here...my
treat?"
She nodded. Eddie hurried away and returned with two cokes. They sipped and smoked, he told
a couple of lame jokes and she laughed. He was almost beginning to believe she actually liked him
a little. He wasn't usaually this glib or engaging. For some strange reason he felt relaxed as could be
and in the flow in a manner of speaking. They talked a little more about her book. It was an anthology
of short works. Eddie made some points about two or three of the stories as the girl stared into his
eyes very intently. "I totally don't get this story called the Ice Palace," the girl said with a puzzled
expression on her face and her cute nose crinkled up in a most appealing way. "Why is she so obsessed
with death and the graveyard and Margie Lee. And what the heck actually happened while she was
lost in the Ice Palace, it made no sense to me...did she hit her head or something?"
Eddie was more than glad to attempt answers, "I guess the story is a lot deeper than it seems at
first. I think the girl in the story saw the graveyard as her link to something bigger than herself.
She felt a strong tie to the past. The past was somehow very important to the people of that little
southern town. It gave them a sense of roots and belonging. I think they were proud of the ones
that came before them. As to what happened in the icehouse, I suppose that is sorta let up to
the indiviual reader to interpret. Fitzgerald injected a lot of mythology and fantasy into his stories.
The incident in the Icehouse was sort of a waking nightmare for the southern girl. The ice probably
represented the cold that she felt from the strangers she was living among. Or something like that."
Zelda nodded, "Yes, I see what you mean, I like the way you explain things so clearly...it seems so
simple now, in a way...thank you so much!"
"I wish you were my tutor, you are a lot smarter than my old one and much easier
to talk to." Eddie blushed and looked away. He drained the last of his coke. He noticed the sun was
getting rather low. "You must live near here? Or did you drive?" She said she walked over, it was a
fairly long distance. "I use my brother's car sometimes but I walk a lot too...I guess I best be getting on
home. I've kept you long enough. At least now I will have some idea of what the teacher is talking about
Monday." She gave him the most awesome smile...all white teeth and full red lips. He wiped his hands
nervously on his pants. The he took her hand and helped her get up. Impulsively he pulled her closer and
put a light kiss on her lips. His heart pounded and he half expected to be slapped. The slap never came,
only another smile and a soft chuckle. She put something in his hand and turned to walk away quickly.
She looke back over her shoulder and waved. He waved back and looked in his hand to find a scrap of
paper with the name Zelda and a phone number. He watched the figure of the girl fade into the distance
and he pushed the scrap deep into his pocket. Finally, he lit another cigarette and shuffled slowy away.
"What a perfectly great day this has been," he mused. He did a little dance move and continued towards home.