Section Three – Jeff Sykes
We talk about our first loves. That first glaring sun-bright burst of desire, hers when she was 11, mine at 13. Joel Comstock. Tessa Mills. We describe them to each other in detail, then imagine that the sardonic wit of the universe has thrust them together, married them and given them three children, all loud and rheumy.
“He was two, maybe three, years older. He had that kinda sandy blonde hair boys rake to the side. He rode my bus and he never noticed me, the nerdy girl, peering over her book for a glimpse as he talked to five girls at once, all of them giggling. He wore dark Metallica t-shirts and jeans with slits halfway down so I could see his tanned knees.”
She’s staring at the ceiling, her open hand on my stomach, fingers slightly curled. It’s a primary image of Sophie, her hand lying loose somewhere, upturned, her long and elegant fingers cupped so slightly as if cradling something treasured and delicate.
She’s silent for a moment, completing some kind of picture in her head, then turning to me with a sudden commentary, “You know, the problem with reading literature at too early an age is that you come to believe all true love is tragic or unrequited.”
I nod solemnly as if this were a perfectly obvious truth.
“I thought about him constantly. Backlit like a Hollywood Norse God. Thought of him especially when I did not touch myself, because I never touched myself, not nearly every night in the glow of my panda night light, not in my bedroom, the door only four feet down the hall from the living room where my parents were watching God knows what, no I never touched myself and I never thought about Joel Comstock when I didn’t do it.”
The Being Part by Jeff Sykes
written and performed by Jeff Sykes
Jeff Sykes is a Winston-Salem native who grew up in the Old Town area of Forsyth County. He’s written poems and lyrics since he was a boy and grew up to become an award-winning reporter and newspaper editor. He likes to play guitar and sometimes sing.
The Cloud Diary Music Project
We sent musicians a synopsis of Cloud Diary and a randomly chosen scene from among 12 scattered throughout the novel and asked them to respond to the scene, musically or aurally. The piece could be of any genre and any duration. It could be music already recorded, adapted, or written specifically for the scene. Find more information here.
Click here for the full Music Project playlist.