Page 35 of You Spin Me

“Can I have his number?”

“Sure. I’ll write it down for you later.”

“Awesome.”

Talia puts a finger on his bony shoulder to herd him out.

I call out to stop them, even as part of my brain registers that the current song is winding down. “That it? You get one more question.”

“Nah, this setup is choice. I’m just here to meet girls.”

“Fair enough.”

He slouches outside and Talia turns a cat-that-ate-the-canary smile on me. “I know. Try and not tell me how good I am.”

“Talia, you are both awesome and rad. Now get outta here. I got work to do.” I was going to play the Posies’ “What Little Remains,” but now I’m in the mood for “Believe in Something Other.”

After I slip-cut into it, I check the clock. Ten forty-five. Jess should be most of the way home. I bet she’ll be car-dancing to this one.

When I pickup the line to talk to her later that night, she’s out of breath. “Were you running up the stairs to call me or dancing again?”

“Both,” she pants. “I ran from the car to get out of the cold, but I also didn’t want to miss the rest of this song. It’s awesome.”

“Yeah, that song’s hitting big right now. Again. It’s a re-release. Playing it’s a little like penance for me at the moment.”

“Penance? What do you mean?”

“Don’t you have penance in the Jewish religion?”

“Kind of. Repentance. Like, you know, everybody sins. So you reflect on yours and try to do better in the future.”

“That sounds healthier than having to give things up, like for Lent.”

“I don’t know; from what I’ve heard, Jewish guilt and Catholic guilt could go a few rounds in a ring. But what’s that song have to do with penance?”

“Ugh. I did an interview with the band that plays it when they came to town last week.”

“And?”

“And it sucked.”

“I must’ve missed it. Did you play it before my drive home?”

“No. It didn’t air. It was terrible.”

“It probably wasn’t that bad. I know I’m my own worst judge.”

“The station manager agreed. We literally talked about the weather, and I made fun of Canadians.”

“And they’re Canadian?

“Yep.”

“Ouch.”

“Yeah, I need to work on my interview skills.”

“You could practice with me. I mean, playing twenty questions is kind of like doing an interview.”

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