Because he liked her he wanted everyone to like her. He wanted everyone
to be liked by her. There seemed to be at least ten times each day
where part of a conversation was dribbled my way, even down
to just She says hi. When he forgot to pass one of these
salutations on, he became like a cobweb, a sour grape. He began
to resent her, making these horrid friendly demands on him. Then
it came to him that they weren't demands, they were her way
of trying to weasel herself into the lives of his friends and family.
That one salutation he forgot to pass on earlier today
did him in. Now he was the spider, the rotten tomato,
the meat in the stew. He had friends, sure, but
what good now? He had lost his hunger to worry,
and a tart considering, and to love.



�2005 by John Eivaz