I paid for it

Arthur buzzed in his loafers and squinted his eyes and combed his hair and bounced his feet off the floor and smoked a cigarette and lit a joint and popped a Xanax and took an Ambien and downed three martinis. Tuesday evening proved to be far less dramatic for Conrad who read Michael Cunningham's "By Nightfall" by candlelight. He lay on the outdoor terrace on the sofa, the doggie at his feet, nursing a glass of sauvignon blanc with some brie and green grapes. He heard Arthur buzzing about inside the house.

Conrad started the second chapter, page 25. He tried to make it past page 27 but couldn't get Arthur's rickety-rack noises from the living room out of his head. Okay, let's try reading this sentence. Bang, slosh, kaboom. Okay, I made it through that sentence, he thought. What did that mean? Let's keep trying to read it. Second try. Nope, bang, slosh, kaboom again. Third try. Nope, bang, slosh, kaboom yet again.

"Could you keep it down in there? I'm trying to enjoy some peace and quiet out here!"

"I'm just trying to find the anagram puzzles. Where the hell did you put them? Every time I put something down in this apartment you organize it and it disappears." Arthur's yell echoed from inside to the outside. The dog perked his ears.

"In the nightstand by my side of the bed. Besides which, I bought it and it's mine."

Arthur peeked his head out the sliding glass door and stared Conrad in the face. "Next time tell me when you put something away, okay?"

"Why do I need to when it's mine? Get your own puzzle books."

Arthur huffed and blinked and squinted again. "Mine, mine, mine. Everything's yours around here. Why can't you share anything, you know? It's not like I don't live here too."

Conrad dismissed the thought and went back to his reading. Share with Arthur? Who never had two pennies to rub against each other? He couldn't save anything. What was the point? Back to reading, Conrad, reminded himself. Bang, slosh, kaboom came from the other room. The cycle repeated itself ... just like every night ... insanity.