for our senior art exhibition, brandon styled and photographed melanie and i in a remote field in austin. i would never have done something like this had melanie not been with me. at the gallery, brandon printed two images gigantically. the photographs of us life size and captivating — not because of mel and i, but because of brandon’s ability to capture the very essence of that afternoon. a few weeks later, melanie and i were in Gas Pipe on south 5th buying brandon a new pipe because i had broken his. i found and bought us the most beautiful pair of pipes, brandon’s a handblown yellow beauty, and then mine: ruby ruby red. when i was paying, the cashier looked back and forth between melanie and i trying to connect something and stopped: i just saw ya’ll in a gallery, in those photographs.  he recognized us. it was a chance encounter with a stranger who had been to the exhibition — then i purchased ruby, with my very dear friend melanie, for our very dear friend brandon. i loved that day. i think so fondly upon it.

ruby slipped out of my hands and shattered against some stairs tonight. you yell noo after it’s too late.

m