No one has been listening from the start. We're all just a collage of fractured images of eyes, toothy smiles, nascent wrinkles and single words, strung together like a strand of pearls, irrespective of their source or time; the same words get such a different reaction now, don't they? I can't keep track of my role, just let me know how I can be of service today. Are you rebelling against my judgments today? Are you worried about my motives or am I your support network for this one? Aw, do you need a friend?

You seem to like what my voice represents and not what actually it says. It's not even that people hear what they want to hear--they don't hear anything at all and get busy adding their own captions. Something is filling up the space where my message is failing to get in and to be fair, I don't really give a shit either way (outside of how it affects me--I can't afford anything pricier "in this economy"), but you may want to consider that. You know, or not.

By the way, this necklace looks really good on you (it brings out your eyes). So, how much did he pay?


And what do I owe you?