Modern Lore 7.2: Someone you knew by a nickname
Someone you knew by a nickname
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I thought Aunt Debbie was cool. She rollerbladed, she spoke her mind, she was an administrative assistant for Xerox, a big company I had heard of, she had once lived in California, and she spoke about men. Father would mention, with a sneer, that once Debbie had been married, long before I was born, that it didn't last long. I tried to picture what he looked like. Long blonde hair and a beach tan. Debbie tried to give me advice, that it was ok to be picky, but that, as an ugly duckling, I should lower my expectations.
In her mid-40s, she had decided she could no longer be fickle, and had settled for a man she called the Worm. She would say his brutal nickname with a smile and hum. I asked her why she called him the Worm, and she said it was because he looked like one. Did she go out dancing with this thin creature, who moved spastically, and had a thin head with no chin that shot straight down to the neck. I wanted to see his slimy body, but he never materialized at our Passover seders or summer barbecues. His name floated around for months, maybe a year, and then it was gone. Debbie said she was an old maid. It was too late for children. She said this as a fact, without a hint of regret or satisfaction. My father warned me I could end up like her if I was too picky, but it was too late. I had already told myself I couldn't settle for someone filthy, like he belonged in the ground.
circa 2002