al
belly fire
Al seemed
to
be
listening
intensely
while
trying
to
appear
not
to
listen
.
He's
like
that
.
Intense
and
distant
.
You
would
think
that
a
man
who
displays
two
very
distinct
contradictions
would
stand
out
and
be
noticed
,
but
not
Al.
Perhaps
it
comes
from
years
of
blending
and
normality,
years
of
no
eye
-contact
and
having
to
repeat
himself
too
many
times
due
to
a
repressed
voice
.
That
stutter
must
be
crippling
because
it
makes
him
talk
too
fast
,
too
quietly
.
Al
is
assertive
too
,
if
you
can
imagine
.
So
set
in
his
ways
. Religious
and
bending
in
the
same
way
that
he
is
intense
and
distant
together
.
A
science
scholar
and
lover
of
the
arts
.
To
me
Al
is
a
mesmerizing
contradiction
and
I
can't
help
but
draw
him
to
me
in
conversation
.
Books
,
movies
,
work
.
We
can
relate...somehow
we
are
very
alike
too
.
Though
I
am
loath
to
admit
such
a
thing
is
possible
.
041216
...
raze
all
i
knew
and
all
i'll
ever
know
of
him
belongs
to
one
night
.
the
vine_court
place
.
summer
.
two
years
after
the
turn
of
the
last
century
i'll
live
to
see
born
. baseball
cap
and
beard
.
he
wanted
to
start
a
band
with
three
-part
harmony
.
the
only
problem
was
none
of
the
other
guys
who
were
interested
could
carry
a
tune
.
i
fleshed
out
a
few
chords
on
a
strangely
tuned
guitar
.
he
was
as
drunk
as
i
was
high
.
his
voice
and
mikey's
circled
each
other
,
singing
different
words
.
they
came
to
an
understanding
that
was
more
of
an
accident
than
anything
they'd
earned
.
then
they
pulled
apart
again
,
and
the_spell_was_broken
.
240815
what's it to you?
who
go
blather
from
