Work in Progress - Juniper and Cliff Pizza Talk
The waitress puts the pie in front of Juniper and Cliff, and they have a conversation about nothing the way they used to. He tells her he’s going to Denman Community in the Summer and has hopes for his own shop. He still works at the same motorcycle repair place. The new garage is bigger and better.
He’s been his own knight really. He saved himself after he and Juniper broke up, and Juniper wants to do that too, figure it all out and not be glib about it (the same way he is). They’re talking about nothing and eating pizza. The pie is perfect, steaming, and for a while, she feels as if everything is fine. She and Cliff are okay.
Her mom is right about Saturday nights. She hasn’t been alone in her room this whole time, Cliff has been there all along. They go out on dates, Juniper just can’t remember when or where, and they have those nothing conversations like today.
He asks if Coach is taking her back on the team.
“I haven’t seen her,” Juniper says. Coach isn’t the real reason Juniper came back. It’s Absaroka, not the pizza Absaroka but the place that exists inside the bathroom mirror inside her house, it’s all she wants to talk about. Do I talk about it with Cliff and dare to say the name out loud?
Juniper believes this is all in her head about bad stuff in life repeating. And then she says it, “Absaroka.”
“Sorry,” Cliff says. “What was that?”
The place fills up, and it’s noisy. Juniper repeats the name again slowly. And then they see her.
You wouldn’t know she was a queen just by looking at her.
He’s been his own knight really. He saved himself after he and Juniper broke up, and Juniper wants to do that too, figure it all out and not be glib about it (the same way he is). They’re talking about nothing and eating pizza. The pie is perfect, steaming, and for a while, she feels as if everything is fine. She and Cliff are okay.
Her mom is right about Saturday nights. She hasn’t been alone in her room this whole time, Cliff has been there all along. They go out on dates, Juniper just can’t remember when or where, and they have those nothing conversations like today.
He asks if Coach is taking her back on the team.
“I haven’t seen her,” Juniper says. Coach isn’t the real reason Juniper came back. It’s Absaroka, not the pizza Absaroka but the place that exists inside the bathroom mirror inside her house, it’s all she wants to talk about. Do I talk about it with Cliff and dare to say the name out loud?
Juniper believes this is all in her head about bad stuff in life repeating. And then she says it, “Absaroka.”
“Sorry,” Cliff says. “What was that?”
The place fills up, and it’s noisy. Juniper repeats the name again slowly. And then they see her.
You wouldn’t know she was a queen just by looking at her.
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