97
R. Linda:
Yesterday I was accosted, yes accosted, in me own hallway on me way to work by none other than Argiebelle -- and mutt no less. She wanted to know if I knew if Omarosa was participating in the Clothes for Thespians drive that was happening on Saturday. I knew the name Omarosa was familiar, but I knew there was no one in the building by that name. Then I realised it was the back-stabbing black woman on Donald Trump's first Apprentice series. I actually thought to meself, there on the stairs, that maybe this infamous woman had moved in while I was gone and didn't know it.
Alas, she hasn't. When I whispered (so as not to wake up the people in 4A) that I was not aware Omarosa was living amongst us, I was met with this, said in a loud voice, loud enough to wake the dead, "NO, NOT HER TONYA. THAT OMAROSA!"
All she need do was shout a little louder and the subject of her sarcasm would have surely heard her from the third floor.
I quickly turned the key in me door and trying to shush her, moved to the stairway where I all but dragged her to the first floor out of earshot of Tonya, who I assumed was probably making her morning coffee before she went to work.
"What is the matter with you?" I asked the gibbering Argiebelle, who by the way, hadn't stopped yapping about the clothing drive all the way down to her apartment door.
"I wanna KNOW if Omarosa is going to donate any of HER clothes. SHE said she WOULD, but I need them NOW and she hasn't."
This said with hands on tiny hips, shouting out some of her words for all the world to hear. And they did. Flanagan came out and was peering over the banister, his fiery red hair in bed head mode sticking out at all angles, his washed out blue eyes, blurry and bloodshot as they tried to focus on us.
"Hey Gabe what's with the shouting? Some of us don't have to be up at the crack of down."
"Well, there you go," I muttered to Argie. "get them all up why don't you, over stupid stuff."
I looked up and said the single word 'sorry' as he shuffled back into our apartment. I thought this is just great, she starts this crap and then he comes out and not in a whisper says what he did and now the whole building is probably poised to listening and they think it's me fault.
Argie's door being open I motioned her inside and half closed it behind us. I whispered with almost a violence that it was 7 a.m. and some people were still sleeping and why she would think I knew anything about what Tonya promised or didn't promise, was beyond me and why she would yell at me at this hour, when I was half awake as it was, I had no clue. AND it wasn't nice to call her names.
She stood there blinking at me thought thick glasses. Glasses that I had never seen before and it struck me she looked like a bug. She must have realised she was wearing them from the expression of disbelief on my face, because suddenly she grabbed them off and looked slightly mortified. And well, she should, because they were these huge black things set on a rather petite nose, light skin and platinum blond, green and pink hair. AND, to make matters worse there she was clad in a flannel nightie with those insane pink slippers looking for all the world like Wendy from Peter Pan.
I slapped me side, rolled me eyes and looked heavenward for deliverance.
"Gabe," she tugged at me sleeve and I looked down from on high.
"I'm sorry. I didn't sleep well because, well because."
"That's it?" I asked. "Because why Argie?" I thought here it comes another Flanagan murder mystery.
"Well . . ."
She shuffled her feet and looked down, all the while worrying the folded glasses in her multi-coloured finger nailed hands.
With a frightening suddenness, she pushed me in the chest, out her door and was in the process of closing it before I could get me foot in and shove it back open. Leaning on the door I said to her, "What ails you girl?"
"YOU!"
I stood there leaning on the door keeping pressure on it as she leaned on the other side of it trying to close me out.
"Want to explain Argie, because I'm already late for work, and damn it I be fully awake now thanks to you, and rudely so, therefore young woman, you owe me an explanation!"
She let go the door which surprised yours truly because with all the leverage I was using to keep it open enough I could talk to her, I came falling in almost losing me footing.
"What?" I asked holding onto her sofa to keep from falling flat on me face.
"Ok. I think you and Omarosa," she began and I corrected her. "Ok, Tonya, are a bad mistake."
Dazed and confused, without a single cup of joe to wake me up, I struggled to get me jumbled thoughts in line, but she continued, "You think I don't know, well I do. And it sucks. You and her are not right for each other and well you could do better."
"With the likes of you, right?" I didn't mean for that to come out of me mouth but it did too late I could stop it.
She put her tongue over her front teeth with her mouth closed as she moved from one foot to the other. Not attractive at all.
"Gabe, you just don't see what's in front of you. You need to leave and think about it all."
With that she took hold of the door and backed me out. Closing me out I stood there looking at the closed door thinking I was dreaming, ok hoping I was dreaming. The last thing I ever want is Argie after me in a romantic way.
So off I took meself to work. The entire day vexed me with thoughts of the morning run-in and what was said.
When I got home, Argie's door was closed, no jumping out at me as I walked in the door, no mutt yipping at me heels and clamping it's teeth onto me trousers all the way up the stairs. Well, that was different and refreshing. Feeling slightly guilty, I quietly took meself up to me abode where I met Tonya coming down with a basket of luandry.
"What was all that shouting this morning Gabe?" She asked, setting the basket down.
Oh wonderful, I thought, I don't want to tell her and certainly don't want to be instigating between her and Argie. I wanted to be left alone to enjoy a miserable TV dinner and zone out to the local news (that I already knew), but what the hell it was anything to get me away from the Argie/Tonya situation.
"Uh . . . Argie was looking for clothes for her clothing drive Saturday. She thought I might want to donate because you were." I lied. I lied so smoothly it was scary.
"Oh. She must have been ecstatic because she was loud," Tonya said picking up the basket. "To have anything of yours, I somehow don't think it will ever see that clothing drive. Be more like laid out on her pillow." She winked at me, she actually winked at me and started off with the laundry. Catching me manners, I offered to carry it down for her, but she shooed me off and went on down the stairs laughing. Was no laughing matter to me.
I sighed, relieved the conversation had gone no further because to be honest, I wasn't up for it.
Today, I be living in this cocoon of avoidance of everyone at the moment. I offered to work late because I don't relish going home to another confrontation. I know Argie will ask me if I thought about what she said and I know I will have to disappoint her and, I also know it is only a matter of time before big ears Alison finds out and goes running to Tonya to let her know she knows we are sort of a couple and Argie is jealous.
This is all petty to me way of thinking, but when one is half awake and confronted with it, one's reaction is never played back in the mind as being the correct one. Avoidance is me only option until I can actually get me addled brain to concentrate on a solution. BUT, it is so ridiculous I don't want to even try.
Gabe
Copyright © 2004 All rights reserved
R. Linda:
Yesterday I was accosted, yes accosted, in me own hallway on me way to work by none other than Argiebelle -- and mutt no less. She wanted to know if I knew if Omarosa was participating in the Clothes for Thespians drive that was happening on Saturday. I knew the name Omarosa was familiar, but I knew there was no one in the building by that name. Then I realised it was the back-stabbing black woman on Donald Trump's first Apprentice series. I actually thought to meself, there on the stairs, that maybe this infamous woman had moved in while I was gone and didn't know it.
Alas, she hasn't. When I whispered (so as not to wake up the people in 4A) that I was not aware Omarosa was living amongst us, I was met with this, said in a loud voice, loud enough to wake the dead, "NO, NOT HER TONYA. THAT OMAROSA!"
All she need do was shout a little louder and the subject of her sarcasm would have surely heard her from the third floor.
I quickly turned the key in me door and trying to shush her, moved to the stairway where I all but dragged her to the first floor out of earshot of Tonya, who I assumed was probably making her morning coffee before she went to work.
"What is the matter with you?" I asked the gibbering Argiebelle, who by the way, hadn't stopped yapping about the clothing drive all the way down to her apartment door.
"I wanna KNOW if Omarosa is going to donate any of HER clothes. SHE said she WOULD, but I need them NOW and she hasn't."
This said with hands on tiny hips, shouting out some of her words for all the world to hear. And they did. Flanagan came out and was peering over the banister, his fiery red hair in bed head mode sticking out at all angles, his washed out blue eyes, blurry and bloodshot as they tried to focus on us.
"Hey Gabe what's with the shouting? Some of us don't have to be up at the crack of down."
"Well, there you go," I muttered to Argie. "get them all up why don't you, over stupid stuff."
I looked up and said the single word 'sorry' as he shuffled back into our apartment. I thought this is just great, she starts this crap and then he comes out and not in a whisper says what he did and now the whole building is probably poised to listening and they think it's me fault.
Argie's door being open I motioned her inside and half closed it behind us. I whispered with almost a violence that it was 7 a.m. and some people were still sleeping and why she would think I knew anything about what Tonya promised or didn't promise, was beyond me and why she would yell at me at this hour, when I was half awake as it was, I had no clue. AND it wasn't nice to call her names.
She stood there blinking at me thought thick glasses. Glasses that I had never seen before and it struck me she looked like a bug. She must have realised she was wearing them from the expression of disbelief on my face, because suddenly she grabbed them off and looked slightly mortified. And well, she should, because they were these huge black things set on a rather petite nose, light skin and platinum blond, green and pink hair. AND, to make matters worse there she was clad in a flannel nightie with those insane pink slippers looking for all the world like Wendy from Peter Pan.
I slapped me side, rolled me eyes and looked heavenward for deliverance.
"Gabe," she tugged at me sleeve and I looked down from on high.
"I'm sorry. I didn't sleep well because, well because."
"That's it?" I asked. "Because why Argie?" I thought here it comes another Flanagan murder mystery.
"Well . . ."
She shuffled her feet and looked down, all the while worrying the folded glasses in her multi-coloured finger nailed hands.
With a frightening suddenness, she pushed me in the chest, out her door and was in the process of closing it before I could get me foot in and shove it back open. Leaning on the door I said to her, "What ails you girl?"
"YOU!"
I stood there leaning on the door keeping pressure on it as she leaned on the other side of it trying to close me out.
"Want to explain Argie, because I'm already late for work, and damn it I be fully awake now thanks to you, and rudely so, therefore young woman, you owe me an explanation!"
She let go the door which surprised yours truly because with all the leverage I was using to keep it open enough I could talk to her, I came falling in almost losing me footing.
"What?" I asked holding onto her sofa to keep from falling flat on me face.
"Ok. I think you and Omarosa," she began and I corrected her. "Ok, Tonya, are a bad mistake."
Dazed and confused, without a single cup of joe to wake me up, I struggled to get me jumbled thoughts in line, but she continued, "You think I don't know, well I do. And it sucks. You and her are not right for each other and well you could do better."
"With the likes of you, right?" I didn't mean for that to come out of me mouth but it did too late I could stop it.
She put her tongue over her front teeth with her mouth closed as she moved from one foot to the other. Not attractive at all.
"Gabe, you just don't see what's in front of you. You need to leave and think about it all."
With that she took hold of the door and backed me out. Closing me out I stood there looking at the closed door thinking I was dreaming, ok hoping I was dreaming. The last thing I ever want is Argie after me in a romantic way.
So off I took meself to work. The entire day vexed me with thoughts of the morning run-in and what was said.
When I got home, Argie's door was closed, no jumping out at me as I walked in the door, no mutt yipping at me heels and clamping it's teeth onto me trousers all the way up the stairs. Well, that was different and refreshing. Feeling slightly guilty, I quietly took meself up to me abode where I met Tonya coming down with a basket of luandry.
"What was all that shouting this morning Gabe?" She asked, setting the basket down.
Oh wonderful, I thought, I don't want to tell her and certainly don't want to be instigating between her and Argie. I wanted to be left alone to enjoy a miserable TV dinner and zone out to the local news (that I already knew), but what the hell it was anything to get me away from the Argie/Tonya situation.
"Uh . . . Argie was looking for clothes for her clothing drive Saturday. She thought I might want to donate because you were." I lied. I lied so smoothly it was scary.
"Oh. She must have been ecstatic because she was loud," Tonya said picking up the basket. "To have anything of yours, I somehow don't think it will ever see that clothing drive. Be more like laid out on her pillow." She winked at me, she actually winked at me and started off with the laundry. Catching me manners, I offered to carry it down for her, but she shooed me off and went on down the stairs laughing. Was no laughing matter to me.
I sighed, relieved the conversation had gone no further because to be honest, I wasn't up for it.
Today, I be living in this cocoon of avoidance of everyone at the moment. I offered to work late because I don't relish going home to another confrontation. I know Argie will ask me if I thought about what she said and I know I will have to disappoint her and, I also know it is only a matter of time before big ears Alison finds out and goes running to Tonya to let her know she knows we are sort of a couple and Argie is jealous.
This is all petty to me way of thinking, but when one is half awake and confronted with it, one's reaction is never played back in the mind as being the correct one. Avoidance is me only option until I can actually get me addled brain to concentrate on a solution. BUT, it is so ridiculous I don't want to even try.
Gabe
Copyright © 2004 All rights reserved
