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Ghost Parachute

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Pruned

August 1, 2020 By E.J. Schwartz

Pruned

The pool club is psychedelic with disarray, everyone tanning, slippery as a fin, sun-drunk. I’m floating on a neon pink flamingo, scoping out the scene, eyes burning and blurring from chlorine, yellow bikini straps digging into my newly swollen hips. Toddlers shriek in the kiddie pool; women flip like burgers to get an even crisp color; men pretend to check their phones as they steal glances at me through the slits of their sunglasses.

I twirl a blue raspberry lollipop against the inside of my cheek, shift it back-forth, back-forth, in-out, in-out. The oiled ladies gawk at this while their partners guess the shade of my tongue. This is how I know it doesn’t matter that my bathing suit costs a buck fifty. Pretty girls can throw on sacks and still be the height of desire.

My feet slip into the water, the surface opening easy for me, like a mouth for sweets. If I let it, this pool would gobble me whole. Instead I cross my ankles, my fingers webbed in drying water, and shut my eyes. I am what these people have taught me to be: a clusterfuck of mystery; a pillar of commonplace. The flamingo whispers the words they think, it won’t get any better than that, and I soak in their drool, bottle it. One day, when my skin is pruned but not from water, I may need their attention. I will save it for then. For now, I lift my lids toward the sun and watch tadpoles swim freely in the sky.

About E.J. Schwartz

E.J. Schwartz is the author of Before We Were Blue. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, Threadcount, Necessary Fiction, and many other publications. A New Jersey native, she now teaches and studies fiction at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.

Artist Credit:

Brett J Barr is an artist/ tattooist, born in Easton Pennsylvania. He grew up in Daytona Beach, moved to Orlando FL in 1997 and now resides in Chuluota FL. Aside from tattooing at Built 4 Speed Tattoo in Orlando, Brett enjoys many different art forms such as graphite, charcoal, paint, pen and ink, mixed media/ graphic design, woodworking miniatures and studies classical guitar.

Contacts:
brettjbarr@yahoo.com
Facebook/ Brett J Barr
Instagram/ brettjbarrtattoos
Shop Insta/ built4speedtattoos
built4speedtattoos.com/brettjbarr

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