Jack O'Shaughnessy

[gunmetal gray]

<center>

And I know I'm all alone
Say your name slowly
And I know that I'm alone
But I'll carry you

Does it feel good like a memory
When you try some history
It's a dream to come around
But who doesn't then,
Because the taste doesn't taste the same again

It's easy feeling righteous when you're new
All you'll get is what you wanna hear
It hurts because it should
How else am I to make it clear?

I could never be the one that you want, don't ask.
Well, here's to living in the moment
'Cause it passed.

Maybe your life is what I need sometimes
You took the most and best of anyone
You said to "keep me in your pocket"
So I carried you

You better choose your words carefully
Because I'm not your anything
Gonna stay here in my place
And you'll stay in yours because
Your only good is what you're good for

I pace around the room to spend the time
Waiting while the burning pictures fade
Want a thing to make you mine
And another to say it's fine

I could never be the one that you want, don't ask.
Well, here's to living in the moment
'Cause it passed, it passed.

I'm still carrying a little hope that
Maybe things could get different now
Is that so wrong, is that so wrong, is that so wrong?

Would I see you tonight
At a place we go?
I wanna make things right
Before time runs out.
Roll down the windows
Like you know they're coming
Slap my face just to feel, to feel you there again

I could never be the one that you want, don't ask.
Well, here's to living in the moment
'Cause it passed.

I could never be the one that you want, don't ask.
Yeah, here's to living in the moment
'Cause it passed.
'Cause it passed, it passed, it passed.

[jimmy eat world. "carry you."]</center>

<font color="#a62a2a"><font size="1">[ October 28, 2007 07:54 PM: Message edited by: gunmetal gray ]</font></font>

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ October 28, 2007 08:03 PM: Message edited by: gunmetal gray ]</font>

[gunmetal gray]

<center></center>

?Long night, Jack??

?Always are, Alice.. Always are,? the smile that turned his lips was nothing more than a ghost of an expression, hardly reaching brown eyes painted dull with exhaustion. Water dripped from the cuff of his police standard issue jacket, forming a small pool on the counter as calloused fingertips tapped out a dull, lazy cadence. It was his end of shift ritual, swinging by the Victory Diner for some breakfast before he made his way home. The usual consisted of a large cup of coffee, black, two eggs over easy slapped together with some bacon on wheat toast, and an orange ? all packed neatly into a small brown paper bag.

Alice was a portly older woman pushing sixty, the warmth in her eyes balanced only by the sharp wit Jack had been lucky enough to receive on more than one occasion. She met him each morning with a sideways smile and a wink, auburn curls streaked with silver piled atop her head and secured with more bobby pins than Jack cared to count, and a pen anchored expertly into the unruly bun. As she passed him from across the counter he caught a faint whiff of grease and perfume, an odd mix that, for the off-duty cop, provided a brief moment of comfort.

?Heard on th? news it?s s?posed to rain like this for th?next day an? a half. Guess we need it, though, what with th' summer bein? as hot as it was this year. An? dry,? she was a master of small talk, Jack had come to discover, as she really didn?t require much input on his part. She could converse for hours with nothing more than the occasional nod or nonverbal ?mhmm? hummed from the lip of a coffee cup.

?Well, here y?are. Woulda had it t?ya sooner, but I know how y?are with yer coffee,? plump fingers pushed the paper bag his way along with his coffee, and Jack knew just by looking at it that Alice had snuck a little something extra for him. She reminded him of a tougher version of his grandmother, always trying to get him to eat more and worry less.

?You?re a doll, Alice,? this time the smile he cast was more genuine in nature, though a far cry from reaching his eyes. He slid a hand into his trouser pocket to fetch the required fee, deft fingers plucking a couple bills from the faded sterling clip and slid across the counter. It was a couple bucks heavy, enough to cover a decent tip.

?Same time tomorrow?? A rhetorical question as he gathered his breakfast and secured his hat back atop his head. The fabric of his jacket whispered in protest as he moved, the thick sole of a heavy boot thudding quietly as it relinquished its perch from a nearby stool?s rung.

?I?ll be here, sugar. You be safe out ? yeah, yeah, I?m comin?.. Don?t get yer panties in a twist!? A waitress?s job never finished, Alice cut their farewell short to meander over and wait on a pair of old men whose sole purpose in life was to make Alice earn every penny of her meager wage.

With coffee in hand and breakfast nestled safely within the crook of his arm and tucked close against his torso, Detective Jack O?Shaughnessy made his way to the Victory?s front door, a quiet chime of bells clanking against glass as he pushed his way out into the cold, miserable gray of a rainy Wednesday morning.

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ October 29, 2007 03:58 PM: Message edited by: gunmetal gray ]</font>