the world has turned and left me here

the fear

Last night Jake & I were driving to the store, when a series of cones walling off one lane from another on a one-way street severely confused me, and I ended up turning onto O Street brit-style.

"You're on O Street," Jake says. This doesn't click so he says it again. Suddenly I realize there are two rows of headlights up ahead coming toward me. I am driving right into oncoming traffic. I swerve across three lanes of traffic and merge to the far right, and we notice that the car we were headed for was a cop. I get the fear.

"Go go go" Jake's yelling "before he has a chance to turn around!" We tear out to West Lincoln and I turn off onto a sidestreet, make a few more turns and pull up in a parking lot. A black cat darts out in front of my car. "Gimme one of those cigarettes," I say. Usually I can't stand them. We pile out and stand out in the freezing drizzle of a terrible dark day turned terrible dark night, smoking two cigarettes, and discussing the enormous American flag that droops above us at a nearby gas station.