One day Eppa insisted that I lift and carry her
but she was heavier than she looked
heavy-boned and full of muscle
like tightly packed pastrami
from her father’s deli
and I was weak
which I excused by claiming to be a Jean-Paul Sartre style
intellectual
even though I had dropped out of college
Sartre himself was probably stronger
Wasn’t he in the Resistance
in the same cell as that woman
who became famous for killing a Nazi with her bare hands?
Eppa could have done that
She had the chutzpah
and contempt
that she painted with a broad brush
over society
but she would have been particularly contemptuous
of a Nazi
Anyway, I hoisted her up
my knees buckled
and we toppled to the floor
Giggling, she wrapped her legs around my middle
and squeezed until I was gasping for breath and begging for mercy
Would you describe this as high maintenance?
Still, I liked her
a lot
and she provided job security
as her dad was my boss
Even though he despised me and
thought I was a lousy worker
he didn’t want to get his beloved daughter’s nose
out of joint
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