My Underwater Boyfriend And The Gymnast I Love
Last night my underwater boyfriend and the gymnast I love bought me dinner on a boat deck. Indoor/outdoor fairy lights hung in grape-like clusters and luminaries including but not limited to a certain four star general and his mermaid of a mistress, a certain B-list actor and his scuba diving entourage, and a certain deposed Eastern European princess and her bathing suited ventriloquist’s dummy contributed to an atmosphere of general intrigue. The menu boasted pages of unpronounceable Russian delicacies — including, thank goodness, a variety of tiny oceanic mushrooms, each more rare, more exquisite than the last, smoked in sage leaves and strewn with edible pearls. I wore a diaphanous gown with a purple pineapple pattern. The waiter, a real sharp guy, looked vaguely familiar. I said is this a dream? He said nyet.
Author Bio
Tara Roeder is the author of two chapbooks, (all the things you're not) and Maritime. Her work has appeared in multiple venues including The Bombay Gin, Otoliths, MonkeyBicycle, and The Journal of Compressed Creative Arts. She is an Associate Professor of Writing Studies in New York City.