Deleted Scene: Visitors

It rained the day J.B. and Sienna came up from Jeonju. I met them at the Hamilton Hotel and we walked up the hill to Phuket, a Thai restaurant in Itaewon. J.B. was from Illinois and Sienna from Providence; they met in New York, where they lived before coming across the ocean. We ordered Pad Thai, spring rolls, Tom Yum Kun, and Singhas. I was sick from too many nights out, but I wanted to entertain and not let it bother me. I kept my energy up by telling them stories about drinking with Mr. Park and all the fun I had been having. They tried to match stories but silence between them and the fights they had, the lies they told or didn’t tell to keep the relationship moving created gaps in the communication. Their form of honesty was in expressing the perverse, or in admitting truths about themselves that were dead, from other lives. They spoke truthfully but their relationship lacked truth. It was as if they stood upon separate pillars instead of one platform. I told myself it didn’t matter, it wasn’t any of my business, but it was hard to get the fun off the ground.