What’s new?
“So What’s new?” Sally asked. Not really caring what was new, it was just a formality.
“Well, to tell you the truth, not much.” Mark started to reply.
Sally began, “So let me tell you what’s new with…”
She never got to finish the sentence, as Mark quickly continued. “But now that you’ve mentioned it, I did have an issue with the cat. You see the cat wanted to go out, and I wanted it to stay in, but then the landlady came to the door and wanted the rent check. As I opened the door to address the landlady, the cat ran out of the door.”
“That’s very interesting,” Sally said in a rather dreary sort of way. “But what I was going to say…”
Mark immediately cut in and continued, “So then the landlady says, ‘I didn’t know you had a cat. You know that’s forbidden. Now your rent will have to increase.’ I had forgotten that was why I kept the cat indoors and hidden. So I said, “What cat?” Of course then the phone rang. And you wouldn’t believe who it was?”
Sally was getting somewhat antsy as she again tried to point out that she had something to say. “I’m trying to tell you something,” she said a bit more forcefully.
As Mark went on. “It was my ex, you remember Susan. What a pain she was. She wanted to know why I haven’t sent her the check yet. Like all the money I make in my shoe shop I should give to her.”
Again Sally tried to speak as she held up her hand in front of his face. “I have to tell you….”
Mark continued, “The woman’s a gold digger. She has her own job at the supermarket. You would think she could earn her own living without mooching off of me.”
This went on for a while, with Sally trying to get a word in edgewise as Mark continued his saga of the cat, his ex-wife, a bunion he had that was killing him, the latest news on the Mets and Islanders, the price of coffee nowadays, and more. Finally, Mark said, “Like I said, not much is new. So what’s new with you?”
At this point Sally was so upset and frustrated she yelled, “I..I..I..just wanted to tell you…Oh crap, now I forgot.”
“It probably wasn’t very important then,” Mark said. “Maybe you’ll remember and then we can talk again. It’s always a pleasure to have a conversation with you.”
