TAKE MY
WORD FOR IT
BY MARK GONZALES
I WAS IN THE MOST peaceful dream state when I was
Interrupted by the modern technology of a phone call. It was my
brother. I answered with a harsh, "Hello?"
"Hey. Al. Sorry, did I wake you?"
Then my voice changed. "No, it's alright. I was just having a good
dream. What's up?"
I had my left hand on the receiver and my right on my face feel-
ing my whiskers, thinking to myself. "I should shave soon."
"What?" I asked, not understanding what he was asking 'cause I
was contemplating shaving.
"Could you help me with Mary's car? It broke down last night
after work. I already towed it to the house. I was wondering if you
could come look at it."
Then, feeling my whiskers with the back side of my hand, I
answered, "I'll be over in a short while. Oh, hey, did she say how
it died? Did it make any weird noises?"
"I didn't ask her. She's at the market right now. Do you want me
to call you when she gets back?"
"No, It's alright. I'll be over in a while."
I hung the phone up and walked into the rest room. I urinated
and then turned the hot and cold water on to rinse my face the
same as I have always done in the past, except when I brought
the water from my hands up to my face, I was splashing water on
nothing. My goddamn face was gone. My heart stopped instantly.
I could feel it there, but it was invisible. My whole head was gone.
I felt my ears. They were there, but I could not see them. I rubbed
the back of my head frantically. "Fuck this," I thought, "I'm halluci
nating. I put a towel over my head. It assumed the shape of my
head. I ripped the towel away from my head. Invisible. Jesus Christ
God, this isn't happening
I went to the living room and looked at my reflection on the tv
set. From the lower part of my neck up-invisible. I was getting
confused and getting angry. I felt like someone was fucking with
me. I clenched my right hand in a tight fist. I socked myself in the
eye, at least where I assumed my eye would be. It hurt. I hurried.
into the rest room to look at the eye which I had just punched, and
it started to appear slowly, so I socked myself in the other eye, but
nothing happened.
I looked closely into the left eye. It was entirely visible now. I
socked myself in the ear expecting it to appear. I walked into the
kitchen entirely freaked. I walked back to the living room. I looked
into the television. Still only one eye was visible. I ran to my room
and took a glant leap to the center of my queen-size bed. I flipped
over so that I was on my back. I looked at the celling, trying to
think rationally. The only thing I could think about to identify this
with was that movie I saw when I was ten. Then I thought, "Who
can I call? I'm not insane." I went back to the mirror in the rest
room and I pulled my hair. I shook my head and with one eye. 1
stared back to the phone. I dialed my brother's number.
My sister-in-law answered. "Hello."
"Hi. This is Al. Is Bill around?"
"Just a sec."
When Bill picked up the phone, the first thing he said was.
"Hey, Al. Mary Just got home. She said the car was not making
any abnormal noise, that it just sort of died out."
I understood what he said, but at the same time. I was imagining
myself going over to his house with nothing visible from my lower
part of my neck up but my left eye.
I abruptly told him, "Bill, I'm not sure if I'll be able to make it
over today. Let me call you back."
"Alright. No problem, Al."
I could tell my brother was confused by the sound of his voice.
I sat there at the kitchen table, trying to put my thoughts together.
Alright, I'll wrap an Ace bandage around my head. Then the reality
of it hit me. It's just like that fucking movie, only I'm not entirely
Invisible. I managed to get dressed despite my mental condition.
When I picked out my clothes. I somehow managed to forget that
CKING OF
BEER
I was invisible from my lower neck up. I picked out a blue turtle-
neck that was given to me last Christmas. I was all dressed. I went
to a closet in the hallway to find the Ace bandage. Throwing stuff
about. I came across a Coors tank top. I took off the turtleneck.
replacing it with the tank top. At least this way. I could look down
and see part of my chest. Right then, it hit me. Maybe Mary had
just run out of gas.
I called Bill and told him to see if the car was out of gas and
to call me back to let me know. I finally found the Ace bandage.
I started to wrap it around my head. As soon as I was finished.
the phone rang.
I answered it, "Bill?"
A computer voice came on. "Please do not hang up. I'm calling to
help you save on long distance rates."
I hung up. I covered my neck up with the Ace bandage, leaving
my left eye uncovered. I looked all over the house for some sun-
glasses. I finally found a pair which
my grandfather had left in my car last
year when I picked him up for the
horse races. I put them on and looked in the
mirror. I said to myself. "I need something else
"Oh, one more thing. Do you guys have The Invisible Mart?"
"The tv series, the original movie or the remake?"
"Uh. any of those would be fine."
"Well, the original movie is checked out, but we have the remake
and the tv series available."
"Okay, thank you."
I hung up. Now, driving down there should be no big deal. I'd
just get in my car, drive down there, check it out and come home.
I grabbed my keys and wallet from the coffee table in the living
room. I opened the front door and at first expected it to be sunny.
but I forgot I had the sunglasses on. As I was walking to my car. 1
noticed the neighbors across the street were staring, I waved and
as I did. I thought, "This outfit will now confirm their beliefs that I
am a weird one." On the drive there, at traffic lights, when pedes
trians would cross, they'd watch me. I'd just smile and wave, but it
only seemed to bring more attention to myself. So, by the time I got
My whole head
was gone.
so I don't look too conspicuous." I put on a
cowboy hat. I looked in the mirror and just about cried. An Ace
bandage wrapped around my head all the way to the lower portion
of my neck, old man sunglasses that just about cover the entire
face and a foolish cowboy hat made out of straw.
The phone rang. Again I picked it up.
The first thing. "Hello, Al. It's Bill. Hey, I feel stupid. The car was
just out of gas. Oh well, at least it was nothing major."
to Blockbuster, when someone
would look at me, I'd flip them
off, and they'd turn their head
as though they hadn't noticed me at all.
I parked the car and got out, slamming
my door. totally pissed 'cause it felt like
the bandage might be unraveling. I fixed it, though, and walked in
behind the counter where there were three people: an older lady
who was busy with a customer, a younger man with a goatee and
a younger girl who I figured was probably the girl who I'd talked to.
I walked up to her and said. "I just called a while ago asking
about The Invisible Man. Are you the one I talked to?"
She looked up from what she was doing, and when she saw my
The phone slipped from my hand. I bent down to pick it up, and head and facial gear, she burst out laughing, and then, covering
saw my reflection on the shiny chrome from the stove.
"Hello. Bill. I just dropped the phone."
"Hello, I'm still here."
"Hey. Bill, you're a lot older than me. I have to ask you some-
thing. Do you know if Mom or Dad messed around with hallucino-
gens around the time I was born?"
"No. Al, not at all. At least from what I know. Why do you ask?"
"Oh, nothing. I was just wondering."
And at that moment I felt so sad and alone, like I was insane and
not from this world. I drifted off then. Bill's voice pierced in my ear.
"Al. I asked would you like to come over for dinner."
"Oh, no. No thank you."
Then, trying to make myself sound casual. "I've got a lot of shit
to do. Well, I'm glad Mary's car is alright."
"Okay, I'll see you, Al."
"Alright, talk to you later, Bill."
I hung up. I felt like he could see me through the phone and
was wondering why I had all the goofy shit on. I sat there on the
kitchen floor, picturing myself on Eye Witness News or CNN Special
Report: Man from Los Angeles partially visible-news at 11:00.
Then, without thinking. I picked up the phone and dialed, and
a computer answered.
"At the tone, the time will be 12:20 exactly.*
I hung the phone up and dialed information.
"What city, please?"
"Los Angeles on La Cienega."
"Yes?"
"Oh. Blockbuster Video."
I stood up and opened a drawer for a pen and paper. I wrote
down a number. I hung up and dialed.
"Hello, Blockbuster La Cienega store. how can I help you?"
"Yeah. I was wondering, do you deliver videos?"
"No, I'm sorry, we don't."
her mouth to hide her smile, she said. "I'll show you where it's at."
I was not upset at all. I didn't mind this girl laughing at me.
That's what I was thinking as I followed her through the video
store. She was good-looking, and the way she walked. I could
follow her from here to China.
"The tv series are in this section." She tapped the top of a shelf.
"But the remake of the original is in the horror section. You'll find
it somewhere over here. All the movies are in alphabetical order."
"Alright. Okay. Thank you."
I watched her as she walked away. She smiled. I smiled, but
there was no way she could tell.
I found it. I took it to the front. I went to her aisle and there was
a lady with a small kid before me. The kid was looking over her
mother's shoulder at me. I waved. The kid buried her head into
her mother's hair.
I felt like a freak when it was my turn.
She asked. "Could I see your card?"
"I don't have one."
Then she handed me an application. "fill this out and bring it
back to me when you're finished."
So I filled out the application, and when I came back, she said.
"I need to see a driver's license and two major credit cards."
I pulled what she asked for out, only when I handed her my driv-
er's license, she smiled and said, "How can I be sure this is you?"
"Well, you'll just have to take my word for it."
She gave me my Blockbuster card. license and credit cards back.
"Okay, sign here. It's due on Wednesday."
As I went around to pick up the video on the other side, she
asked, "What happened to you?"
I replied calm and cool. "Oh. Just sprained a few face muscles."
She laughed. Then, as I was walking back to my car. I said to
myself. "If my head ever reappears. I'm gonna have to come back
and ask that girl out."
6-8 THRASHER
69