magicbeans. nothing if not awkward.

Arriving at book club, I explained that I felt as if I had been kicked in the ribs. 'A bunch of reasons,' I said, 'I've been tossing and turning in my sleep. I ate something today which was supposed to have soy cheese on it, but I think may have had real cheese, and since I haven't intentionally eaten any dairy in about ten years, that would probably throw a wrench in my stomach, so to speak.' As it happens, I think it probably really was soy, I didn't really get sick from it. 'And, of course there's the new tattoo.'

'On your ribs?'

'No, actually, but it did hurt quite a lot.'

'Did you just get it.'

'A couple hours ago.'

'Oh, that's right,' Caitlin said, 'you left work after lunch. I was wondering briefly how you could have gotten a tattoo after work and still been here by seven.'

'Can we see it?'

'It's still bandaged. Maybe next book club I'll have an unveiling.'

---

It was another sparsely attended book club. Four people, and it broke up early, being a weeknight and all. It may just be a factor of summer, or it may be that the concept of reading a book and then talking about it and drinking a bunch of wine is just not as universally appealing prospect as it is to the few of us who show up every month.

Deciding on a book for next month, the consensus was for a novel, and maybe something a little weird. 'Pretty much any of the fiction published by McSweeney's fits the bill,' I offered. 'I really enjoyed Dave Eggers's You Shall Know Our Velocity.' And as no one else present had read it, and I've got plenty else in my reading pile anyway, that's what was settled upon.