“Garfield Mug”
May 25, 2019He sits at the edge of his bed, just staring at the wall. It’s a blank wall, just like the blank expression on his face. He looks at the wall, wondering if he should put a poster or some pictures on it, to give him something to look at when he gets in these moods.
Someone outside, down at the far end of the street, is yelling Hey! He turns his head to look out the window, but he can’t see anything. The lamp is on in his room, so all he sees is darkness outside.
He sips his whiskey. It’s in a Garfield mug that McDonald’s made decades ago in an attempt to trick kids into having their parents buy them lousy fast food. He doesn’t remember where he got the mug, and he doesn’t remember ever going to McDonald’s with his parents when he was a kid. Now he’s an adult, dammit, and he’ll drink his whiskey from whatever container he wants.
He keeps staring out the window listening to the distant voice yelling Hey! It’s been hot and gross all day so he has been unproductive, sitting on the edge of the bed, naked except for his pink underwear. They manage to keep most of his body cool, as the mild breeze coming through the open window is as hot and gross as it is inside his room.
He sips his whiskey and turns back to the blank wall. It’s gonna be a hot and gross summer.