Every Saturday, we’ll be posting a new illustration by David Lester. The Mecca Normal guitarist is visually documenting people, places and events from his band’s 26-year run, with text by vocalist Jean Smith.
Celia is sitting across from Mick at another Indian restaurant, a fancier, more expensive one on South Fraser.
“I wrote a new song yesterday,” Celia says. “You might like it, except that it’s about you.”
“Really? What’s it called. Or do I want to know?”
“It’s called ‘I’m Not Into Being The Woman You’re With While You’re Looking For The Woman You Want.’”
“Wow,” says Mick. “Long title.”
“I wrote it while I was pondering what to say to you. I see you’re still on the dating website, so I figure you’re looking for more women to have sex with.”
“I established communication with a woman from the relationship section before I met you,” Mick says. “I’m going to meet her on the weekend.”
“Oh, so I’m interfering with your relationship potential,” Celia says, stabbing a crunchy pakora with her fork.
“Meeting her is the logical conclusion,” says Mick, as the butter chicken arrives.
“OK. I’ll step aside and let you get on with that conclusion. She’s probably all excited about your future together,” Celia says, putting down her pakora-laden fork. “By your definition, we aren’t seeing each other anyway.”
“It’s up to you how you want to look at it.”
“In my simple history of getting together with men,” Celia says. “I feel like you and I have started seeing each other, but you seem to expect me to accept that I’m the little slut from the trashy town called Intimate Encounters and the nice lady from the classy town of Relationship is inherently more valuable.”
“I wasn’t planning to start a relationship with someone off a sex website,” says Mick. “But I guess stranger things have happened.”
“That’s how you see me?” Celia says, picking up her fork and sliding the pakora into the mango chutney. “Someone from a sex site?”
“Women from the Intimate Encounters section are totally separate from the women in the Relationship section.”
•••
Saturday morning, Celia wants to see him; she doesn’t want him to meet Relationship Lady. She emails, “Would you like to come over for tea?” She means soon. She means now. But there’s no reply. As she waits, her mind slips into assuming that he is with Relationship Lady. Maybe they got together last night and they’re still together. Maybe they’re having coffee at his place right now, talking and laughing. Yes, Mick would make coffee for Relationship Lady, but not for her.
Mick doesn’t email until late Sunday night: “Tea would be nice. How about Tuesday?”
On Tuesday, Mick arrives all tired, talking about work and the dentist. He says he was in Oregon on the weekend. Working. Celia is leaning against the counter by the kitchen sink, arms over her chest, legs crossed. Mick is sitting on a folding metal chair, his back to the window. Out of the blue, he starts talking about what is going on between them.
“Look, when I really like someone I start to feel I need distance,” he says nervously. “It has caused me all sorts of problems in relationships.”
“OK,” Celia says. “I think I understand what you’re saying. So you do like me.”
Mick is more relaxed after explaining why he appears to be indifferent. “We should go out for dinner sometime soon,” he says.
“That’s probably not a good idea.”
“Well, I guess we’ll see how it goes then.”
“Mick, I don’t want to get involved with someone who disappears every time we start to get close,” says Celia.
