The Levee

Two days ago I went to Chad’s apartment on S 2nd for the first time and I don’t know if I felt deja vu. I don't know what deja-vu is supposed to feel like.

There were pizza crusts in the stairwell. It felt mad hood: the kind of stairwell that people do business in. Dust everywhere; cigarette buts.

I know that Chad got the room on craigslist and moved in with strangers, so when I thought ‘I’ve been here before,’ I also thought, ‘maybe not.’

I sat in his apartment with his roommates and the layout was also familiar. ‘I’ve been here before,’ I thought, again. ‘Or a building like this, an apartment like this, some two years ago: visiting a bro who was new to the city, who I’ve since fallen out with.’ I asked them how long they had lived in the apartment and they said five years.

So it couldn’t have been the same apartment.

Then they said, ‘do you know (name of bro)?’ I did. ‘He stayed here for a while.’

‘Ahhhhhhhh. So I have been in this apartment,’ I said. ‘That’s neat.’

Chad and I went to a bar called the Levee, which used to be Kokies. They have a special with a shot and a beer for four dollars. Cheap beer and cheap bourbon.

It’s kind of grimy. You get the feeling that they are going for a 'pre-gentrification' vibe.

We drank bourbons and played Jenga. One of the bartender bros was playing The National. It felt like the end of something, or maybe the part after the end.

So we played pool. I have been on a good run against Chad lately. Then these girls came and put their name on the chalkboard.

We had seen the girls before. They had insisted on playing me in Jenga the last time we were at the Levee: a couple of months ago. ‘They must be the regulars,’ said Chad.

I will describe them. The leader is dark-haired and Italian looking, with tattoos on her forearms and big, pouty lips. She carries a small Paris Hilton like dog. She wears low cut V-neck T-shirts which reveal the sides and bottoms of both of her breasts. Her breasts are medium sized and hangy. She is loud. Her hair appears artificially straightened, and she carries maybe ten extra pounds. She is very good at Big Game Hunter.

The one I Jenga-ed is moon faced and slightly shorter than the leader. She also has dark hair and wears baby-doll dresses.

Then there is one that is very short and shaped like a barrel. The short one is the most employable looking.