Concrete Building

When he was out in the open all the armor fell away. Life in the concrete canyon made him hard, it was etched in his youthful face, tensed unnaturally along his lanky biceps and wound his insides tightly. He was nervous about getting to know this new person within himself. Part of it was freeing, the other absolutely terrifying. He unclenched his fists and took a deep breath.

Motorcycle

It represented a lifestyle that even he had to admit, was long gone. Less pleasing than it had been in the past, he clung to it regardless as the last vestige of old times. He tried to justify hanging on, but came to the conclusion it must go. Surprisingly, he didn’t even cry when it was sold. The seduction of the shiny well oiled machine was over.

Window

It seemed like a good arrangement at first. She wanted to be close by in case of an emergency. But the idiosyncrasies of practically sharing living space was oppressive. The natural call to revert to childhood battled with her adult sensibilities. And conversely, he fought against their new roles just as vehemently. She also refused to get him a sub sandwich at 2 in the morning

The Blue Pool

The invitation to immerse herself was delicious. Once in, she felt she could go forever and relished the smoothness glide over her. Her guilt at leaving them behind dissipated as she experienced a rebirth of her independence. It was short-lived, a creature with inflatable wings splash landed on her and she laughed.

Headphones

Consciously he slunk into his own world. The ability to disengage from the rest of the world took supreme focus and special hardware. He insisted that his journey be music sodden otherwise it was worthless. Now he was in the zone.

Lappy

It was his first. He recalled the all-nighters, pouring his thoughts into its circuitry, pizza crumbs in the crevices, indiscernible streaks across the screen, and then a long life as a glorified coffee table. Now she said he had to get rid of it, it sounded like an ultimatum, but he knew better than to fight for it. He couldn’t stand someone else having it, so he picked it up and took it to his mother’s basement.

Ipad

He was desperate to get a leg up. It had been tedious trying to convince colleagues and family that he was worthy, talented and intelligent. His desire to clamber and climb had become a lifelong distraction and he wasn’t going to stop now. If this didn’t do it, he’d have to invent something else. His Trekkie sense tingled transporter

The Cop

He knew they would look. Pride surged from his chest as he paraded by in machine bellowing convoy. He had wrangled a childhood passion and made it his. But the pressure to maintain this stance, the prestige, the expectations, was a burden. And to top it off, he preferred croissants to donuts.

Pig Truck

There was a time when he wanted to hide what he did. Now he saw no shame in it, it was a noble profession after all, one held down by his namesakes for generations. He understood it was offensive to others. He was dealing with death and people turned a blind eye to that. In blocking that out, he too became invisible. And that he struggled to overcome.

Espresso

He wanted to focus on what she was saying but his mind had other plans. Her voice was imperative, wanting, demanding. Blocking it out could not only be blamed on his fatigue. Her tone was red with no hint of compassion and it made him forget why he loved her. Then suddenly she stopped herself, stroked his hand, and he looked up adoringly into her eyes.

Shopping Cart Lady

She had been pretending for years now. Her identity as matron was over and she was deep in denial. She continued to bake and cook for a family that didn’t exist. Ghosts at the Sunday dinner table. And with the pies laid out on the table she dug into the tub of ice cream accepting that she had to move on.

Wrenches

It was Dad’s private space. Why this was a secret was baffling to a little boy. With sneaking, innocent eyes he understood it in a literal way. As an adult he saw the true myriad meanings of his time spent here, why he needed to get away. For his father, this was enough to temper his soul. He had inherited it now and he knew just what he’d do.

Lakeview

Breathe. This was universally easy, a mantra, he had been told. Carted up here to relax, forced into it, he sat in the proper position and tried to do so. The surroundings were appropriate, picture book some might say, but it belied his noisy mind. The mental cacophony drowned out the calm his eyes took in. He gripped the bottle pressing on his palm with its dewy coolness and took a swig. That helped.

The Basement Poster

He cringed every time. His brother was intolerable and it embarrassed him when friends walked in. He amped up his weirdness to the hilt when he had an audience. It was clear he didn’t want to be identified with everything the family name brought. He embraced the black sheep stigma. Yet he refused to move out.

Parking Meter

She cursed city life.