LIGHT IN A BOTTLE...

Light in a bottle... a foreign self-luminescence at the bottom of the mare' (mah-rey), the belly of the ocean. More like that, than actually that thing. The euphemism developed naturally; but started out with the word play of an advertisment lodged in the local places. Places like malls, vision centers, bus stops and cab doors as well as between the lights and lisence-plates of cab asses.

'GET DONE YESTERDAY WHAT YOU SHOULD HAVE DONE TODAY!'

or

'PUTTING OFF TODAY WHAT YOU CAN LATER DO YESTERDAY'

All advert word plays on 'Dont put off till tomorrow what you could have got done today'
And: 'what you could have, should have, would have if, but you still (know you) didn't.

9:50 a.m.

"Carrin?", a questioning voice called down a hallway.

"Yes Ms. Dinh" the response answered.

"I forgot to wash the dishes from the party, god... ...all those people, I was a wreck having to talk to them all. I went straight to bed. The thought of all that food rotting in the sink... ... we have another one this afternoon. I know your not to keen on heavy cleaning but I'm in a jam..."

"Look at through the door', Carrin intereupted.

"They're all done!, Nice!"

"Okay its on my list the go to last night and finish them for today's party when I go shop for the extras I need for the party favors... I'll hire some helpers too. I expect they are already waiting to be paid, so I'll walk in here after I leave and tell you who I hired last night."

'Why do today what you can put off til yesterday', she kept misquoting the slogan in her head, within the schema of her own creative thought.

She carried her groceries with her in a super conductivity cart that was soft cuffed to her rist. Looking over the contents to be sure she had everything on her shopping list she noticed at a glance a fiftyish man toting a university student ID. He looks more like a professor, the bearded type than student, But then most professors are professional students aswell; so, she continues to give it little thought.

"Tamatinos, cremfresh, kiwi, spinach, chards....', her list written in cooking order, was not crossed off in order; and she had forgot to continue crossing it off while she was shopping. Her eyes darted about the cart to be sure she had everything.

"Looks like your missing sage", he used that as his intro to talk to her, noticing that she isn't wearing a wedding ring.

"Yes it looks that way", she replied like she knew.

He was talking to her since he noticed that she glanced up at him.

"I'm to old to make conversation with women who are not interested in me to some degree." He hoped his frankness would break the ice, and quickly. He was going to be diverted to the suttle going into the day he needs, and he wanted to get to the point before they would have to separate.

"Like the sage, I have plenty at home", refering to the possibility of a long term lover.

A pleasant terminal voice changed the mood a bit. The voice was delibeately designed to calm the rushed traveler. And the female voice seemed to not interupt even though it started mid conversation and at intevals.

"Last Tuesday, has been diverted to terminal T17'... the automated voice rested as though deliberatedly letting listeners continue where they left off--then it interjected a moment later-- ..."The travel desity is being tallied and a referal location is being determined, we apologise for the delay."

"Is your partner now, or then or after?", the bearded man asked since now there would b some time to talk. And he started getting bord as a reaction to the delay more than any actual waiting.

"Why would I tell a stranger that?", she replied.

"Well your bothering to talk to me at all, a lonely middle aged man who's headed or from anywhere. It Doesn't mean you love me or anything. I'm just passing time."

"He is in the now', she replied -acepting his divegence from flirting as genuine.

"You are my kind, but I like what I have- and I notice that you saw me take a peek at you. So I can't exactly fault you for flirting. But I am not looking, just noticing.'

"I have patches of pinapple sage at home. I noticed that I picked some when I looked at my patch this morning. I guess my home is between work and where ever our arrival site will end up being."

"There is sage at the store." He gave flirting one last effort.

"Growing your own and tasting what you grown yourself in the meals I cook tastes best. I can go to the store anytime I want. But I veggies from the store ( even fresh produce ) doesn't taste nearly as good as home grown.'

"Your a cutie though, I bet you have a vegitable garden of your own."

"No', he relied. "Mostly buding flowers and nearly rip fruit. I still find myself having to go to the store if I want to eat anything ripe enough to cook up right."

"Your a professor at which ever univrsity. Plenty of woman to cook with there, no!?!"

"Well I am, and I'm not.' He resolved that she was taken, still it is second nature to him to practice taking advantage of chances to be or at least look clever.

He waits for her next word to be a nonverbal cue of curiosity to a mild degree.

"I graduated, but I haven't taken any tests yet."

"Oh, I see and your going to take it, or is it more, now." He opened up a bit and now she saw the gist of what he is getting at.

"Its more."

"How the hell did you manage that? you know the material but didn't take that test. Is it minor, or am I correct in thinking that I'm getting from you that its a whole lot more"

He bounced up on his toes and back down; with his hands folded and a playful smirk behind and adding shape to his well trimed beard. Without any verbal communication.

"I'll take that as a shy, or guilty yes!- OMG!', she laughed.

"You never took any- but you've been teaching all this time- you had to have done the homework linear, and yor thesis paper-OMG!"

He held up an evelope and a sort of jump drive, still retaining his blush and smirk.

He broke in to the dialog to explain: "I missed a test, so I told myself I'd go back and make it up. Turns out that since its me I can go and do that at the university I attended/attend"

"Your kidding' she exclaimed with her hand on her mouth. "They allow that?"

"I guess so. I went to class and I got a B-. I blew off the next test and got an A++.'

"Most of the material that was hard for me back then is secondnature to me now. So I decided that after waiting this long, I didn't want to have to go back and do seven years worth of exams in my eighties and ninties. Turns out the test rooms are filled with people who figured out the same thing I did."