A Single Can of Pumpkin: Redwood City, California 1969

You wake up early to the heat outside boring its way into the house, the air inside dead and odiferous. You fill your glass from the tap and wander in to the living room to discover David and Bruce keeled over in the mess of their party. Too tired to wind up any anger about them, their mess, their noise, you go back to the kitchen for another glass of water and tour of the cupboards. This time, with the acute instincts of the starving, you do, at long last, spy a dish you can make. You can't believe your eyes, or that you are able to get down to the bottom cabinet to discover a single can of pumpkin. You also see, a bit higher up, a single block of pie crust, which apparently did not need refrigeration, which kind of horrified you, but more so, had you fantasying and salivating. You are suddenly very very excited. You are a huge fan of the pumpkin and especially when it is pie. 

When those boys finally pull themselves out of the stink pile you ask for a pint of milk to make your pie and they they hauled themselves out to Bruce's car and the store. They return with a pizza to go with their beer and thank goodness, your milk. You do savor a slice of pizza, no matter all you longed for was some fresh vegetables and pumpkin pie, and then take yourself off to nap in the family room. The rest of the house is worse than stuffy. It was dank and smoky and rank from the old beer at the bottom of the cans. 

The boys stuck with the previous nights endeavors. Luckily, the neighbors did not worry you all over the sound and now the lights and smells. David had grown up there after all. The neighbors were no doubt on to his wiley ways. Maybe the called the Smith's, but so far so good. It was too hot, your back was too tired, and your belly felt bustlingly tight and truly gigantic. You could barely fall your way onto the couch anymore. As you sit there sweating, filling up with rancor over the disgustingness of those boys, it overwhelms you and you cry. You cry a lot. Then you roll yourself onto the floor and with help of the couch's arm, you make it to standing, determined that baking and enjoying that pie was the only way to make it through this day.