2

I ordered a capachino this time, for the fluff on top. Dry, please. I paid for it, the edges browning like burnt paper. Content receded from the edge, the woman next to me turned. A sparkle on the side of her nose caught the light, a flash of brilliance.

What role do you play here, the woman asked using dozens of words.
I rotated my pelvis, shifting my weight from the pointy tips of my arse to the flat plane where denim filler is supposed to be. What answer to give. I threw my forearms down on the table top and considered my fingers.

Playing a game would mean some vague answer. Start in any direction, it doesn't matter; this answer is to a map as a rainbow is to a line.

I'm just here, I answered using a few more words. My role is to continue here without depending on any wires or strings. Looking up, wires were sticking out of the wall. Blue geometric blocks at the end of wires vibrated to the music. When the bass thumped, which didn't actually happen, because the coffee shop was playing vintage sub-techno.

You are slightly under par for the game you are trying to play, you know that? The woman's affection warm, feminine, gently digging. I nodded my head, a sharp gesture under stiff angular wool. Just a little, there is room for improvement, the woman's words became blunter.

I finished my cappachino and gazed into the cup as though hoping to see it half full, still. Instead of the drying rime of fuzz residue. The woman was wearing a flower on her hat in her hair, tiny feathers floating around it. Ouside, the asphault beyond the sidewalk was flooded with rain water, droplets falling and pooling and reflecting golden curls of lamplight. Someone was sitting behind us, nursing themself on the conversation. Who decided, who would speak?

The woman in the corset dress lifted her fashionable wine glass and sighed. Having props on hand is part of the game, props are the things that allow you to stand up from the game and leave the pieces to play later. She had a picture of a centipede on her cell phone. This is my friend's pet, she said. Look at it. I promptly covered my eyes.