He talked to her for what seemed an interminable amount of time about the rocking chair his mother had given him for his apartment. Erin wasn’t sure how the topic came up, but she knew she hadn’t prompted him, id est “So … how do you feel about rocking chairs?”, but he talked on and on about the specific qualities of the chair, and why it had seemingly changed his whole life. “When you’re in it … and you put your feet up … and you rock … you feel totally weightless. Literally. Like you’re floating. It’s the best chair in the entire world. I don’t know why it’s different from other rocking chairs – and I have sat on many a rocking chair in my day – but this one … something about the height of the seat, and the way it rocks … it’s more like it glides. It’s a whole different thing. I come home, turn on the TV, sit in that chair, and I’m like…. Ohhhhhhh.”<\/p>\n
The ecstasy on display here for a piece of furniture was difficult for Erin to respond to. She couldn’t match his level of euphoria, having never sat in the Holy Grail of rocking chairs yet. All she could manage was a rather lame, “It sounds very comfortable.”<\/p>\n
He shot her an odd look. Almost hurt. “Comfortable<\/i>? That’s not the right word at all<\/i>. It’s beyond <\/i>comfortable.”<\/p>\n
“Okay.”<\/p>\n
Suddenly he exploded, “Whoever designed that chair is a fucking genius<\/i>.”<\/p>\n
Erin said, “Calm down.”<\/p>\n
He was a big tall man, meaty, with big hands, a pale scowly face. He seemed always a second or two away from becoming irritated. But Erin sensed something else in him, and it dawned on her during the rocking-chair soliloquy what it was. He was an innocent. A true innocent. Erin had never met an innocent man.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
He talked to her for what seemed an interminable amount of time about the rocking chair his mother had given him for his apartment. Erin wasn’t sure how the topic came up, but she knew she hadn’t prompted him, id … Continue reading