Toast

The green woman rides her bicycle to the store to buy milk and bread. She places the milk and bread in the basket attached to the front of the handlebars and rides home.

The telephone rings in the man's apartment. It is the man's best friend from 3rd grade whom he has not seen in fifty years. They talk about the past, the present. They talk about how their lives turned out. Each compares the other's life with his own. It turns out they live only a few miles from each other.

The heroin addict works in the coffee shop. He's okay in the morning because he is high. He sets things up. He opens. He organizes the tables and chairs in the patio area. He breathes. He appreciates the sun and the earth. He uses the coffee shop bathroom to shoot up when he needs to. His boss knows he is a heroin addict but doesn't do or say anything because he is also a competent employee and they are hard to find these days.

The fifteen-year-old boy and the fourteen-year-old girl are going out. It is the first time either of them have gone out with someone. They have been together for a week. They know they are supposed to hold hands often, so they do, even though it is a little awkward when they are around their friends. The girl wonders when the boy will give her her first kiss.

The two men meet halfway at the coffee shop. They sit outside because it's a nice day. They continue the process of telling each other about their lives for the rest of the morning. They discover some interesting coincidences. They learn things they never would have thought the other person would have done.

The heroin addict needs to use the bathroom but it's occupied. He is almost losing it. He sits outside in the sun. Two men are talking at a nearby table and it is driving him a little crazy. Finally, a boy and a girl emerge from the bathroom holding hands. He gets up and goes to the bathroom.

The two men talk outside the coffee shop for the rest of the day. In the afternoon, a green woman rides by on a bicycle. They both stop talking as she rides past them.

The boy and the girl stop walking outside the girl's house. Other people may be watching them from other houses but they feel like they are alone. The girl thought the boy might kiss her when they went into the bathroom. The girl thinks he might kiss her now. She wonders if she is supposed to do something to make him kiss her. The boy seems like he wants to do something.

The boss decides to have a talk with the heroin addict. He knows his competence is only temporary. Soon the heroin will eat him and he will be useless. He gives the heroin addict an ultimatum.

The sun is going down. The two men decide to leave the coffee shop and go to a nearby pub. They have a few beers and continue the process.

The heroin addict goes to the pub and sits next to the two men and orders a beer. He has a lot of thinking to do.

The boy's cell phone rings. It is his mother. She wants him home for dinner. He says goodbye to the girl. He says he will come over tomorrow. The girl says goodbye and goes inside and plops onto her bed and thinks about texting him something but she doesn't know what.

One of the two men says hi to the heroin addict and the heroin addict says hi back. They remember him from the coffee shop. The three of them talk about various things. They move to a table and order a pitcher of a kind of beer they all coincidentally like.

The green woman parks her bicycle on the side of her house and takes the bread and milk inside to the kitchen. In the living room, she logs onto the internet. She turns on her web cam. She takes her clothes off.

The heroin addict's head falls, slams onto the table. He is unconscious. The two men tell people to call an ambulance.

The boss finishes closing up the coffee shop and walks by the pub. An ambulance is parked outside. He sees the heroin addict being wheeled out. Two men are with him. They look familiar.

In his bedroom, the boy logs on to the internet and goes to http://www.greengirl.com. Her web cam is on. He captures a still frame of her breasts and blows the picture up so it takes up the entire screen. He masturbates. The cell phone on the bed behind him vibrates.

The two men follow the ambulance to the hospital. In the waiting room of the hospital, they continue the process.

The girl falls asleep and dreams that she is pregnant. She goes into labor and screams. She wakes up. Her mother comes into the room to see if she is okay.

The green woman goes to the bathroom mirror. She admires her perfect body, her inhuman color. Later, she falls asleep on the couch with the television on.

In the morning, the heroin          addict's
mother comes into the hospital room. Her son is up and drinking a glass of milk. A half finished piece of toast is on the tray in front of him.

In the morning, the green woman makes some toast and pours herself a glass of milk.

The

boy's

mother

makes

toast for

breakfast.