Things That Lose You

So I've finally got all of the text from Things That Lose You here. If you were to read the book itself, the stories would be in this order:

The Escape

On the Border, In Between

Pretending

Little Drowned Darling Boat

Sleeping

The Harmony of Greens


The Escape

And in my red hot air balloon
I will float above the tallest trees
and you will crane your neck
trying to catch a glimpse
of my gleaming, white teeth.



Pretending

When I wake up, Yves is kissing the back of my neck. His palms dig into the mattress on either side of my chest; His knees, my hips. And he is taking little bites out of my spine. I keep my eyes closed, try not to smile, but he knows that I am awake. The day won’t slow for sleepers, He whispers. I turn over, still under him, and tell him that today, I want to catch lobsters. Outside, the neighbors’ barbeque smoke dances up the stairs and through the screen door. They are grilling corn. We are in the loft, a small, almost-apartment above the garage of Yzes’ parents’ house. The room consists of a lumpy mattress on a pull out couch that is rarely folded, a television, old computer, bathroom and mini-fridge. And a ladder that leads to the actual loft that is attic-like and empty above our heads. We don’t go up there anymore, but as children it was perfect for keeping secrets.



Sleeping

“It just makes me miserable. Every time–”
“Is that Nina?” he asks, staring at a photograph across the room.
“No, you’ve asked me that before.” Her voice slips through the crack between her lips, drifts out the air conditioning unit and meets a cold draft from outside.
“What were you saying?” He mumbles.
“I don’t know. I have to sleep now.” She rolls over to turn off the one, grey lamp. He notices her ribs and bumps of her spine that stick out through the paper skin on her back.
She pauses, still leaning towards the light; “Is it Wednesday?”
He doesn’t answer. The wind crashes outside. The light goes out.