OUR LADY OF OMEGA

Every time I see this record, I think back to a humid, hazy, partly cloudy July day Cath- and I shared. We met up in Amityville that time because she was gearing up to see her abusive asshole dealer boyfriend in the next town over. We started our hot and muggy day over discussing future summer plans such as where to eat for our birthdays ten days apart (we opted for sushi), and tentative summer plans included a road trip to a New Jersey amusement park. Then we walked into High Fidelity to scavenger through the bins for a good one hour before I settled for only three seven-inch records. While we waited to be rung out, Herbie Hancock’s Sunlight sat in a box on my right side with some other records waiting to be sorted out. I considered taking it home with me. In the end, I didn’t but walked out with whatever I picked out in the seven-inch bins.

Both of us proceed to sit down and have Chinese food next door. I had sesame orange chicken, an egg roll, white rice, fried wonton, and bottled water. She had only dim sum. Cath- then received a call from her junkie lesser-half and told me that she had to “drop a note off” to him. She said she’d return as she dashed out of the restaurant and drove out to meet him at his residency. Within fifteen minutes, she returned as I noticed a bright red puncture wound on the inside of her arm (cubital fossa), and told me that we could spend more time together. We walked out of the restaurant, got in our cars, drove to an empty parking lot where we parked and she hopped in my passenger’s seat. We went to a convenience store to get ice drinks for Cath- to pour vodka in. I always knew she had a dependency with alcohol when we first spoke, but that was in the background compared to what sharp objects she administered herself every day.

We arrived at the park where we finished our drinks, and got out of the car to walk a few laps around the park as we side-stepped and dodged goose shit. She tried lighting her cigarette, but the heavy winds made it more difficult. So, we sidetracked behind a separate building and after ten minutes of trying she finally lit up. We then spoke about our new jobs, our career plans, and how each of us would deal with working two at the same time. I would be working at the tech store and supermarket, while she would work at the office supply store and fast food place. We also got more in-depth about her drug habit, how she seen herself using it, and as always, I tried finding outs to persuade her in getting better. 

After ninety minutes walking around, our hearts beating and our bodies pouring in sweat, we sat in my car to talk about a friend of hers: a 50+ year-old guy who she hasn’t seen in quite some time and was feared missing without a trace. He let her ride his motorcycle and lamented on how, over a fifteen-year span, he’d rarely relapsed and quit cold turkey each time. A friend, who, was homeless but somehow managed to find residency in a run-down abandoned house where she visited him.

It was getting dark and we called it a day. I drove Cath- back to the parking lot where we said goodbye and parted ways until next week. She got in her car and drove off. I drove out to an outlet to buy some black slacks before finally retiring for the entire night.

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