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 28-year run, with text by vocalist Jean Smith.
Martin was eating sushi out of a styrofoam box on the kitchen counter.
“I brought you some coffee,” Nadine said. “Sushi and espresso?” She laughed, holding up the metal flask.
“Why not?” Martin said uncrossing his legs to reach an upside down mug in the dish rack beside the sink.
“Black and barely warm at this point,” Nadine said, wishing she could just put the bloody coffee on the counter without needing an appreciative response.
Martin’s mouth was full, but he nodded enthusiastically. Nadine pulled back the lid of the styrofoam box to see what he’d ordered. The big and now slightly dry-looking futomaki, a negitoro roll and tamago: the sweet egg. In her imagination she combined the espresso with the texture of chopped tuna and green onion of the negitoro roll. Not flavors she would purposely put together, but yet it had a certain appeal.
“Help yourself,” Martin said.
“You can heat it up if you want,” Nadine said, still referring to the coffee.
Martin laid his chopsticks across the corner of the styrofoam box and unscrewed the lid of the coffee container and poured it into the mug.
“This is perfect,” Martin said. “Thanks.”
Nadine wanted him to heat it up, but she didn’t say anything more. She envied Martin’s ability to simply be, without the constant shuffling of meaning she chronically engaged in. Envious, but she was also curious. Was this what men on dating websites meant when they stipulated laid-back? Nadine skipped past the profiles of men who said they were looking for a woman who didn’t take herself too seriously. No one had ever called Nadine laid-back or easy-going, but she wondered why such men, if they were so laid-back, why would it bother them if she took herself seriously?
