April 12th-17th, 2009
Still Toby
Sub job offers pour in all week, but I ignore them. Rose calls a dozen times, begging to get back together. She thinks we’ve made a mistake and wants to meet, but I refuse. I sleep fitfully, stare at the ceiling a lot, listen to my stomach rumble, and order Chinese food a few times. On the sixth day, I awake at dawn, the sun pours into my window.
I shuffle to the bathroom and, for the first time since the breakup, look in the mirror.
There it is, thick, black, lustrous…
My mustache.
It’s glorious.
It’s me. I run my thumb and pointer finger in a circle around my mouth.
I may be alone, but I know who I am. I’m Toby Delgado, a Mexican American, asthmatic, substitute teacher who’s great at his job. I don’t need a little Latina woman to validate me.
Besides, I've a got a mustache women can't resist.