Friday, December 21, 2012

I Wanted to Look Pretty ...


I knew Thursday might be the last day to work on my little assignment, 
so wanted to present a nice appearance for particular people. 
I wore a new pair of trousers I'd just hemmed, made of 
a tiny houndstooth check material. I wore a nice lace top 
that contrasted well with the weave and a black tunic cardigan. 
It looked pretty decent together.
My hair looked sleek and shiny and behaved 
well this morning, too.

It was raining lightly when I left the house, but the temperature was decent.
I caught the bus from home just as the downpour hit. Snug and warm
on the bus, I wasn't too concerned; I had another bus to catch but that hadn't 
presented much of a hassle in the past. Did I tell you it was raining?
I crossed the street to wait for the second bus. Commuters drove past where
I was standing, throwing up five foot walls of rainwater that was
pooled near the curb. Great splotches of water (re)rained upon my
(formerly) shiny head, sprayed like a fusillade of bullets across my raincoat,
and dotted my new trousers with giant wet spots, not once, not twice,
but four times. I was torn between using my umbrella against
the falling rain, or as a shield against the onslaught from the street.
Neither effort was effective. I couldn't get away from it.

The fourth assault by passing cars resulted
in street soil-tainted water being splashed on my chest and
running down between my breasts, into the lacy bra that was
underneath my pretty lace top. The bus turned the corner and stopped 
to pick me up just as I began to cry from frustration.
I had wanted to look pretty.
When I left home I was Angelina Jolie, Helen Mirren, and
Ellen Barkin. By the time I got to work I was just
another sodden, bedraggled, overweight woman who wanted
to earn a few bucks for Christmas money.
Merry Christmas, everybody. Merry Christmas, Joe.

4 comments:

dive said...

Big hugs, Speedway. I hate it when life throws a sucky at you. I hope the rest of the day went better than the journey to work.

That's a fabulous photo, by the way.

Speedway said...

Thanks, Dive. The situation wrote funnier than it felt at the time; I think it needs to be a scene in a movie. We got done early at work. I missed the bus home (my fault)and had to wait an hour for the next one. Thankfully, there was a shelter, because a cold thunderstorm brought a swath of hail with it. When I got home, I wrapped myself in a blanket and laid on the couch for the rest of the afternoon.

I love the blue stripe in that photo.

Jack said...

What a sad story. I'll bet you looked nice anyways.

Speedway said...

Thank you, Jack. It was more frustrating than sad, just another experience of "best laid plans" thwarted by realities.