My mother’s friend Mary,
being the type who volunteers at birth-control clinics, was not the type to
tell. Still, the night we both showed up, I dodged her, dashing nearly naked
across halls until my best friend used her own exam as a diversion. As far as I
know, Mary took my secret to the grave.
Saturday, March 24, 2018
78/365/Secrets and Lies in 56
The Monkees. Glen
Campbell. Andy Williams. The Partridge Family. Jackson 5. The Carpenters. The
Osmond Brothers. Bay City Rollers. Olivia Newton-John. John Denver. Barry
Manilow. Carole King. Bee Gees. Billy Joel. Helen Reddy. Tony Orlando and Dawn.
Carlie Simon. Elton John. Jim Croce. Eagles. America. The Doobie Brothers. KC
and the Sunshine Band. Simon and Garfunkel.
Thursday, March 22, 2018
77/365/Secrets and Lies in 56
I wonder if those guys like
us anymore—if we’ve simply drifted a bit or if they have an active preference for
people way cooler than us. I can’t address it directly, because if I do, I will
always wonder if they really want to hang out with me or if it’s because I said
something.
76/365/Secrets and Lies in 56
In high school, I had a
box of corn starch hidden in my dresser drawer. I didn’t know what I’d say if
my parents discovered it. Would they believe I planned to thicken some sauces
or soups? We all know I’m not the type to make corn syrup. “Arrowroot!” I could
insist. “I needed a substitute.”
75/365/Secrets and Lies in 56
After Mali
A friend left a teapot
at my house. I put it aside, meant to return it to her. But we drifted, she
moved, and I still had the teapot. Guilt did not propel me to return it;
embarrassment beat good intentions. During my 2017 Things purge, I consigned it. I have heard nothing about it
since.
74/365/Secrets and Lies in 56
A 2000 TV debut sounded
morally abhorrent: A group needs to depend on and trust each other for island
survival but must get rid of each other one by one until only one is left
standing. I refused to watch until first-half-of-the-season reruns for
latecomers sucked me in. In eighteen years, I’ve never missed an episode.
Wednesday, March 21, 2018
73/365/Secrets and Lies in 56
My sister’s thank-you
dinner to us was postponed a day because so many crises kept us from heading
home. It was supposed to be a surprise for me, and Tim had suggested a roasted
chicken, which my vegan sister actually prepared,
then, shockingly, ate with us,
conspiratorially saying, “Don’t tell Will and Eric,” other vegan friends.
Monday, March 19, 2018
72/365/Secrets and Lies in 56
“Your mom lied to me,”
my husband says, in disbelief. “Right to my face.” She told him she would take
her insulin and meds. She told him she had
taken her insulin and meds. But when the nurse finally pressed her on it, she
had to admit she’d done neither. “Welcome to my childhood,” I say.
71/365/Secrets and Lies in 56
Verizon is a bunch of
fucking liars. The customer service representatives are always so kind, and I
truly believe that they are unwittingly being turned into fucking liars by the
evil that is Verizon. Because why would a person with any moral compass create a
catch-22 whereby ailing 88-year-olds can neither have nor cancel phone service?
70/365/Secrets and Lies in 56
Pressing the wrong
button can result in photographic evidence, stuck garage doors, false alarms,
panic, confusion. Maybe you locked something you needed to unlock, or vice
versa. Maybe you were just curious, but what happened was an accident. Maybe
you didn’t know a grocery bag could hit an elevator button that registers a cry
for help.
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