UGLY AS A REDFISH

When she left in a fury, slamming the door as she went, she uttered the last words she would ever say to me: “Anyway, you’re uglier than a redfish”. She got into Bob’s car which was waiting for her and they peeled out. As the cloud of dust settled as they sped off, I saw his arm extend from the driver’s side window, his middle finger pointed upwards to the sky. I stayed behind on the porch for a few seconds, simultaneously feeling pangs of sadness for being ditched and at the same time feeling a surge of joy for finally being free of her. I stood back for a moment and finaly went inside to call Fleche to let him know that I was on my way to pick him up for a day of fishing redfish. Once inside my car, her final words still echoed in my mind “Anyway, you’re uglier than a redfish”. As I drove along, I chucked a few things she’d left behind out of the window: a tampon, a tube of lipstick, a ponytail holder,,,, picked up her sunglasses which she had left on the passenger seat. They were a little tight but at the same time, I liked the way that I looked like an ant with those huge lenses, so I decided to keep them. I unwrapped a piece of that awful chewing gum she chewed all the time; I popped it in my mouth but spit it out right away as that cinnamon taste disgusted me. I threw the whole pack out the window and it tumbled behind me down the highway. When I arrived at Fleche’s house he was ready, waiting for me on the sidewalk with all of his gear and his rod in his hand. When he got in the car I could not help asking him: “Do you really think that redfish are ugly?”. “Yes” he said, ‘It’s ugly, but it’s also very beautiful”. I immediately felt a sense of joy come over me. I knew that Fleche was truly my best friend.[vimeo https://vimeo.com/60124708]