im very happy today. might have been from Rosa who i picked up in the Arts District last night in the rain.
i have a terrible time with ADHD and even though i love recreational drugs these pharmaceuticals they have prescribed to me are the devil.
one made me wanna kill. one made me wanna kiss. and the one im on now suspiciously does nothing even though its 2x the dose of what they had given me.
one thing my condition does tho is allows me to drive beautifully in the rain in traffic on a highway of drunks at night while a young woman in super tight ripped pants tells me dirty things.
i can see every rain drop and predict all the cars movements. i can also hear intentions.
and last night, dear reader, 29 year old Rosa wanted some.
was she beautiful? am i?
was she dying for it? was i?
is there one thing i would risk my job as a rideshare driver for which would end this slow drip of tales? um.
messy hair. thick glasses. sloppy firehouse red lipstick. all the things i love. and worse: she wanted to talk about books.
talk rosa. tell me everything.
i am a librarian, she said.
libraries are my safe space. she explained. when i love a book its my new friend. i dont want the book to end. i speed read through most of it and hit the brakes as its wrapping up.
omg rosa ive never finished my favorite books.
ME NEITHER she shrieked, then leaned closer.
what are you reading now i asked, knowing this was foolish because i havent read a book other than the bible in forever because of the previously stated condition and impotence of the meds.
i listen on “tape” now. is that reading? nah.
im nearly done with a very dark version of harry potter she said sheepishly. ironically, as we splashed along the 101 into the Valley past Universal Studios where the wizard’s LA castle looms.
its about after Harry dies and many of the witches like Hermione are rounded up and bred like in The Handmaids Tale.
bred?
bred, she said in a way that sounded a bit guilty and confessional. as if i was the only person she has ever admitted to loving this book.
so wait, is it Fan Fiction?
omg yes! she said and flung back into her seat, beaming. you know of this genre?
im a million years old, young rosa, i know more than i should.
turn around, she said, as we were now speeding down the soaked 170 on our way to porter ranch. i want to see you.
instead of obeying and crashing i lowered my rear view mirror and turned on the dome light.
you dont look old anthony, she said.
youre only as old as yr girlfriend feels. but wait a minute – what Valley library has dirty ass Harry Potter Fan Fic i asked.
oh im in a No Judgement Book Club Facebook Group where we burn through books like these in a week and then talk about it.
you know what the Good Book says about judging one another, i asked.
she said yes i do, i was baptised two years ago, i love the Bible.
Rosa, you wont believe this, but the Bible is the only book-book that can hold my attention any more.
there was a silence from the back seat. and then a quiet i love the bible so much.
then, america, two turned on strangers got in a very deep discussion about how amazing the bible is as both a book, a sci fi novel, a collection of puzzling poems, and a fascinating study of human nature.
are we in love, rosa?
nervous laughter followed by this is the best uber ride ive ever been in.
we got to her gated community and she said the code is {redacted} which i punched in.
the gate slid open and she said
remember it.