Red Can't Even Grab a Starbucks
by Steven Gowin
Red stops me in French in Saint Lazare. I'm carrying a Starbucks.
Her accent's worse than mine, but her grammar's better... She has auburn hair, the thick rich kind. She's slim and tall, sure of herself, but a little rushed... She carries her baby, an almost newborn baby, in a harness over her breast.
Where did I find my Starbucks? she asks, and I answer in English. Walk across the square there, near the Metro stairs... just beside the hotel... three minutes, that's all. There's another around the corner, just around the corner. They're everywhere now.
Now I see the husband ahead of her, a big French type not walking with her, but walking ahead of her. I see his look, his impatient look. I know the type. You meet the type sooner or later. He's not all French men, but he's a type of French man... the always right type.
She's living here now, she says, and can't find a Starbucks in her neighborhood, can't find one anywhere, and can't spend five minutes to walk to the square to find one now, and I see he can't wait for her, has already waited too much, he thinks.
And I see that she'll do her best, is doing her best... that she's dreamt the dream...... the charming husband... life here... all of this, after all. But she bears too much already.
The end's already begun; Red can't even grab a Starbucks.
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Pauvre bébé ... elle a une mauvaise co-star dans son propre film français.
I cried at the end. Fave*
Steve. So good.
"He's not all French men, but he's a type of French man," <3
"She's living here now, she says, and can't find a Starbucks in her neighborhood, can't find one anywhere, and can't spend five minutes to walk to the square to find one now, and I see he can't wait for her, has already waited too much, he thinks."
Solid writing. Enjoyed this piece.
Fave, Steven. I like your story. Well told, well written.
Fave, Steven. I like your story. Well told, well written.
Love this! Can see it all...*
Another short film. Clean and sharp, as usual, Steve-O.
Well done, as usual, sir.
*
Great brush strokes in this picture, Steve.
Solid writing with vivid characterization. *
Great capture. Starts as a trickle, ends in an avalanche.*
fave*
heartbreaker.***
A little jewel. Not a word wasted. I love the clean line, the sweep and tug of this little piece. A big story in a little box. Fav.
Nice, Steven. *
Where did this come from? Sorry it took me so long to appreciate it, Steve.*
This is so good! *
"The end's already begun"
Hasn't it though.
Wonderful piece, Steven.
Just lovely.
The repetition of phrases certainly reinforces the starkness, the definition of her world. The voice is strong yet neutral. Nicely done, Steven.
I'm ambivalent about this well-written story, perhaps because my American wife's in Germany (which is not France, and she's not a red and I'm not impatient nor do I hate to wait for her otherwise she'd be miserable for sure; another husband, also not French but British, sounds more like this guy) for me, for us rather. She wouldn't rather be in the US, she says and I believe it. Starbucks is the wrong altar to pray at in Europe. Lots of associations rushing in—always a good thing. *
Love this - terse but expressive.
Love this. Faved.
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