Another Short Story

This one's more on the real side of things. Still about neurotic people, but aren't we all a bit neurotic sometimes about certain things? Don't we sometimes sweat the small stuff? I know I freak out more often over the car in front of me changing lanes without signaling than I would over a car actually colliding with me. It's interesting how we try very hard to keep our composure over major things yet we willingly and often very publicly surrender it over the small things. Oh well. After making complete asses of ourselves I guess we can always pick up the pieces of our dignity and try to be a little better the next time around. What was this blog about again? Oh, right. The story.


Her Name is Suzi
By Jordan Kenney


Her name was Suzi. Not Susan or Susie or even Siouxsie. Her name was Suzi. It was short for Suzette. So, naturally, it was just not right to spell her name any other way. It wasn’t just a misspelling. It was changing it to a completely different word.

Suzi lived with Brad. “Brad” wasn’t short for Bradley or Bradford or even Braddock. His given name at birth was Brad. It was a family name. At his high school graduation he was handed a diploma that read “Bradley S. Martin.” Brad winced when he first saw it and wrote a kind but firm letter to the district asking for a replacement. It came in three weeks. Seeing the corrected sheet was like coming up for breath out of the water.

Suzi moved into a simple one-bedroom apartment with Brad one month after their first date. The transition from her parents’ six-bedroom house in the palisades was sometimes difficult for her, but living with the man she loved was more than a fair trade for the lifestyle she’d left behind.

Brad had become much more confident in recent months. Early on in the relationship, he put a great deal of effort into fighting off his self-doubts. He feared he was a fraud who had tricked an upper-class girl into associating with him. It took a while for him to accept that she actually wanted to be with him for the reason that – in simplest terms – she liked him. Even loved him. He held to this knowledge like a warm blanket and was confident in himself, but still looked for chances like tonight to take her back to that world.

Tonight was their one-year anniversary, and he was taking her to Grace - the type of elegant, upscale restaurant that he wouldn’t set foot into otherwise. He made the reservations two months in advance. Afterwards he had first tier seating at the opera. He felt nothing but contempt for places like this, but he knew Suzi loved them, and that was what mattered. Tonight was about her and, in his typical neurotic fashion, Brad had planned out the occasion to every variable. Of course his best-laid plans were going to waste as he sat on the couch and waited. Suzi was still getting ready.

Suzi was very methodical in her preparation. Every item in her makeup bag had a specific and predetermined purpose. She had a carefully conceived blueprint in her mind of how she wanted to appear tonight. She knew exactly which shade of lipstick complimented which shade of eye shadow. She knew how to blend her foundation into her natural skin tone to keep it from looking like spackle scraped over her face. And, of course, she knew long before how all of it would blend with her dress.

She often prepared this way for such things, but no matter how well practiced she was, she always took her time. She adored nights out at fine dining and cultured society, and jumped at every opportunity to recapture that feeling of elegance and importance. She knew Brad went to a lot of trouble for it, and she wanted to look like royalty for him. The magic would be lost if she was careless enough to leave a hideous black clump in her mascara.

Brad had been ready and waiting for nearly an hour. He was nearly always ready and waiting for nearly an hour on nights like this. It frustrated him to no end, but he always waited and never complained - normally. But too much planning went into tonight, and his patience was gone. He leaned back on the couch and shouted towards the bathroom, “Would you PLEASE hurry the hell up?”

Suzi paused and breathed deeply before continuing with her mascara. She wished he would appreciate the effort she went to to look good for him. “I’ll only be a minute longer,” she said. He shot back, “That would’ve been great a half hour ago, but we have to leave now. So just dip your face in your makeup bag and see what happens because you always look like a damned mannequin anyway.” Brad felt the words he spoke as if they were directed at him. He knew exactly what it would mean to Suzi, and his stomach turned to lead inside him. He chose not to say another word.

Suzi walked out and kept her eyes to the ground as they went to the car. They drove to the restaurant in silence. When they arrived, Brad opened the door for Suzi. She mouthed, “Thank you” but all she could manage was a “kyu” sound. They approached the maitre d at his podium and Brad said, “Reservation for two. Martin.” There were other Martins at the restaurant tonight. The maitre d, seeking clarification asked, “Bradley and Susan?” Brad calmly picked up the pen at the podium and scribbled at the reservation list. The maitre d, alarmed, looked down at the paper and said, “My apologies, Bradley and Suzi. Right this way please.”