SUZANNE SUTHERLAND
The Rusty Toque | Issue 3 | Fiction | October 12, 2012
GOING TO A PARTY IN YOUR MID-TWENTIESFirst, you walk into the kitchen. No, first you walk through the front door. No, first your friend opens the front door for you. Your friend who lives in the house where the party is happening. Your friend who is hosting the party. Or someone else opens the door, someone you’ve never seen before. You make polite introductions—yourself, your date—and ask if your friend So And So is here. But of course So And So is here, it’s So And So’s house. So And So is the one hosting the party. Later, in the kitchen—you still haven’t found So And So, So And So’s roommate says they may have gone to a bar somewhere in the neighbourhood, but they’re not sure—you notice your date’s ears for the first time. It’s only your second date, and the bar where you went on your first date—another bar somewhere in the neighbourhood—was very, very dark. “Hey,” you say, pointing to your date’s earlobes, “did you used to have stretched ears?” “Yeah,” your date says, “double-oh gauge.” “Oh,” you say, “how big is that?” “Like this,” your date says, holding up their thumb and index finger to demonstrate. “Are you ears ever going to close up all the way?” you ask. “Probably not,” says your date. “Huh,” you say. “Crazy.” You take a sip of your drink. Argentinian red wine in a souvenir mug. Daytona Beach, Florida. Bike Week 1994. “I used to have a nose ring,” you say. “Yeah,” says your date, “I can see that.” |
SUZANNE SUTHERLAND is a Toronto-based writer for children and adults. Her writing has appeared in various magazines and journals, including Descant and Steel Bananas. Her first book, When We Were Good--a young adult novel about girls, guitars and the Bloor Viaduct--will published by Sumach Press in 2013. She is also the founder of the Toronto Zine Library, as well as the Lovely Picnic concert series. You can find her on Twitter and read more of her work on her website.
