Unhappy Hour

"She's happy being a duck in a fish bowl."

This was from my sister as she screwed up her face.  She was talking about Sophia the Wannabe Socialite, after I said that I'd bumped into Sophia at the bus stop.  Sophia had talked about nothing but her latest play that the local theater group is doing at the end of the summer.  My sister and Sophia used to be best friends. Before Sophia's many failed turns in rehab.

I was returning a cake pan my mom had borrowed off my sister. The one thing sister and I agree on is that this city is where you go if you are in hiding. A place where you end up rotting. Creative people die here, the life sucked out of you like a leech on steroids. Then out of the blue, my sister said the strangest thing.  "I don't know why you didn't just stay in Edmonton few years ago? I wouldn't have come back if I'd been you."

Edmonton.  I had been visiting a friend from high school few years ago.  Stayed for two weeks and if I had had more money, or had met a few more people, I'd have just kept staying.   Only, at that time in my life, I was not in the right frame of mind. And I did not get to meet anyone other then the two new best friends of my friend, that seemed to be around the house the whole time with their kids.  Damn those play dates.  I barely ever saw the outside of the house, and when I did, we had a gaggle of toddlers in double strollers to look after.  I figured out pretty damn fast that I wasn't invited because my friend actually wanted to spend time with me, she just wanted a free babysitter.

Sister-: "You need to shoo." {she made a gesture like she was shooing a bird} "Fly away. Be the tree and all that. Be the crow. That was the movie right? Yeah, the crow. And find your whatever and do it soon. Make her look like the bug she is."

Me-: "Well that was...very uncharacteristic of you. And sort of nice. "

Sister-: "Yeah. I just think that she'll get what's coming to her and it's not going to be pretty. She's not the star she thinks she is and you can't listen to mom either. Both of them, look at me Darling, both of them, never bothered to try. Sophia always tried to copy you now she's trying to copy Beril. And mom, she's never had any dreams. Look at what she did when I was in my band. Totally wanted me to quit. So yeah."

Me-: "Wait. Hang on.  Are you, YOU, saying that mom and Sophia are jealous? Of me?"

Sister-: "Big time." {she made a noise that was something like a grunt} "I mean, okay you sometimes drive me nuts, but at lest you have a dream. Do I think you'll get your Mr. Scratchy" {and she did the air quotes too} "I can't tell you that.  Do I think you'll get The Celebrity or one of the other wrestlers, not too sure. But, I can see you getting farther on this whatever it is that you've been doing so far. You had their attention in the past. Which makes you higher up on the food chain then Sophia. Okay gotta run, the man's out of the shower and I still have to make the burgers. Talk to you later. Bye."  

My sister nearly slammed the door in my face.  I thought about all this as I walked home.  Then turned around few doors from my building, and headed towards the blockbuster.   Where upon I wandered around the store for about a half hour then decided to rent Burlesque.  All this talk about fame really stuck in my mind.