Michael Brown's Blog – January 2011 Archive (6)

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Syndrome 6

Over soy burgers and ginseng pop at Lynn’s in Plaza Crystal, Lucia laid out her plan to have Beth come into her yoga instruction school, and though Beth briefly protested that she had not come back to Mexico to stay, she eventually admitted she would. When Matt arrived, and soon afterward Antonio showed up, she felt as if she were once again in the midst of family, a mood that rarely settled over gatherings with her parents and siblings in Palo Alto, and memories of her disastrous solitary time… Continue

Added by Michael Brown on January 28, 2011 at 11:00pm — 2 Comments

Syndrome 5

It was a mistake to have stayed away for almost four months maintaining little or no communication with the other teachers, merely checking in once a week with the Managing Director, a man who had so much on his plate, he had neglected to mention jobs had been repositioned, and other sweeping changes had taken place in Matt’s absence. Lucia was not the only long term employee who had been let go, but she was the one whose daily presence he would miss most. Matt was reassigned duties previously… Continue

Added by Michael Brown on January 27, 2011 at 3:00pm — 5 Comments

Syndrome 4

Beth read and reread Lucia’s letter several times, bought a little picture frame at the $1.99 store and kept her shorn friend staring at her over deli dinners, and thought over the benefits of moving from a loveless city back to a town where she had attachments. Twice before she was actually ready to leave New York she went out for a drink by herself and allowed a couple of men to get close enough to hear the sound of their breathing without feeling guilty over not listening closely to what…

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Added by Michael Brown on January 25, 2011 at 1:30am — 6 Comments

Syndrome 3

Deciding to forego two months of his allowed sabbatical, Matt would return to his teaching post on the Monday after Antonio’s birthday celebration, mostly because he knew Lucia and several others whose company he enjoyed were attending; because he found the seminars he had signed up for were lacking in substance, and he was not getting any writing done despite the free nights. He was taken aback to discover Lucia had gone through a period of baldness and the reasons behind her decision, and as… Continue

Added by Michael Brown on January 23, 2011 at 2:00am — 10 Comments

Syndrome 2

Lucia’s hair had grown back in and she had decided to leave it at its natural gray-tinged black before she received Beth’s call in response to her letter. She had forgotten how the term “snail mail” was invented in the description of the Mexican postal system. Her mother was still holding on though she was frail as a little brown mouse; two of the long-term teachers had left the school for more lucrative positions elsewhere; Giselle went into a hospital with her liver problem up in D.F. and…

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Added by Michael Brown on January 15, 2011 at 8:25pm — 5 Comments

Syndrome 1

When she saw the Mexican stamp and cancellation on the three-month-old envelope with no return address and felt that it possibly contained a photograph, Beth ascertained it also held a letter from Matt and rather than reopening old wounds, she put it with other mail in her “someday to be read” pile and stepped into her small kitchen to heat up some left over lo mein. She would watch another Miss Marple episode on You Tube while eating and then turn in early. She might have the stamina to go job… Continue

Added by Michael Brown on January 14, 2011 at 11:30pm — 5 Comments

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