Sonia walks over and every muscle in her body feels tight and strange, as if walking were something her body had never done before.
He taps out a Camel filter for her. Up close, she notices things about him that weren’t evident from two parking spots away. He has that reddish tan skin that has a bit to do with the sun, and much to do with cigarettes and alcohol.
“I haven’t had a cigarette in a long time,” she says.
“Are you pregnant?”
Sonia looks down. She feigns surprise. “Look! I am pregnant!”
... “Can I sit in your truck for a minute?” she says.
He widens his eyes.
“Please?”
“Sure.” He clears his throat. “I’m going soon, but sure.” He starts looking around himself, as if he were waiting for someone.
Sonia wants to scream, Fuck you, pussy! What are you afraid of? Instead, she says, “Thanks. Just for a minute.”
Paula Bomer reads from her story "On the Road with Sonia," from my anthology, X: The Erotic Treasury, at the In the Flesh Reading series in New York. The video clip takes you a little further in!
Thank you to Rachel Kramer Bussel for the wonderful footage of our event.
